The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom
by castle of ice
Summary: This is just a high school fic...but at this school Sakura must try to fit in with a prejudiced school body;backstabbing student council;crazed fangirls;an apathetic hottie;& his older brother who constantly plays pranks on her!It's brains VS.wealth
1. Chapter 1  First Day

**HEY PEOPLE! So it turns out that my grandpa's house is the best place to go to write ItaxSaku stories. Go figure right? But that aside, I've finally started writing a High School Fic WOOT! I've been thinking of writing one since...so I'm writing one now! :D**

**As usual, Sakura is my main character[I enjoy manipulating her life for some reason] and the story revolves around her. Sasuke's his normal emo-ish/jerk self in this one and as in all my stories. Itachi has the personality of his chibi self, and is therefore playful and mischievous but still has a kind heart :p**

**I hope you guys like it!**

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOT THE ANIME THAT IS NARUTO

conversations are in normal font and have quotation marks

_thoughts are in italics and have quotation marks_

[when I feel like talking I use brackets]

**ANGRY PPL USE CAPS AND UNDERLINE AND SOMETIMES BOLD**

*actions that take place are between astericks*

..._yep_ [that's]**it** *starts writing story*

+THE CRISIS OF A CHERRY BLOSSOM+

Chapter 1 - First Day

Narrator: A cherry blossom looks very pretty as it slowly falls to the ground...

"Today's my first day at a new school, the lady next door won't shut up and leave her overworked man alone, there's no hot water because the heater **FELT** like breaking down today of all days and **I CAN'T FIND MY HAIRBRUSH!** AAAAA**AHHHHHHHHH!"**

"SHUT UP NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR HAIR!" came a shout from next door. Sakura stopped fixing her tie, ran to her window and retaliated, "YEAH WELL NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU NOT BEING ABLE TO PAY YOUR RENT HURRY UP AND LEAVE YOU OLD HAG!" and she slammed her window closed right after.

_"Need to hurry and leave before that woman can catch me at the door~...!" _Sakura sang-thought as she ran downstairs to grab some breakfast while combing her hair with her fingers.

"Sakura Dear! Dinner's ready! Hurry up and come down! I'd love to hear about your first day! Meet a guy?" A woman's voice shouted as the girl entered the kitchen. Sakura nearly tripped at what was said,

"Mom it's 6:30 AM. I haven't gone to school yet you are waaaaaay ahead of time. Plus! I can't think of guys now; grades are what got me into this school and that's what's gonna get me through it!"

_"Is wasn't easy to get a transfer into this place."_

"Yes, yes miss 21 year old. Whether you want it to happen or not I can bet a million dollars that someone will stir your heart at this school."

"Try and get that kind of money first before you start making bets like that..." Sakura responded.

"Ah, I suppose you're right..." her mother trailed off.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!"

"It's okay dear. Let's just hope the kids at school are as understanding of you quick tongue as I am. Hurry up and eat breakfast. It's the last thing I'm doing for the day well, yesterday." her mother said covering her mouth as she yawned and sat at the counter.

_"Well that solves the case of the missing hairbrush..." _Sakura thought and sighed as she used a mitten to take out the hair utensil from the frying pan on the stove.

"Mom why'd you cook my hairbrush for breakfast?" Sakura asked completely uninterested in the response. She was used to such events.

"Oh that's what it was! No wonder it was giving so much trouble. Sorry dear I'm just too tired. I'm heading off to bed. Have fun at school." her mother said groggily and dragged her feet across the floor and upstairs.

Sakura quickly grabbed a pop tart from the box and ate it as she walked to the door.

_"No time to heat this up I'm running late! Note to self: buy hairbrush on the way home from school today." _

She glanced at the mirror on the wall as she went through the door leaving her house. _"Good I at least look decent. And it's quiet so maybe-"_

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE A NICE LITTLE GIRL BUT IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE NO MANNERS YOUNG LADY. I HAVE A MIND TO TAKE THIS UP WITH YOUR PARENTS RIGHT NO-" the lady next door shouted out but Sakura quickly ran past her shouting,

"SORRY NOBODY CARES IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY QUICK TONGUE THEN DON'T TELL ME TO SHUT UP NEXT TIME. HI !" Sakura shouted and waved at the overworked man standing at his doorstep.

The man looked at her and waved slowly, wrinkles under his eyes from lack of sleep but also from smiling.

"DONT WAVE TO HER SHE IS RUDE!" the woman on the sidewalk shouted back to the man who quickly ran inside with a "yes ma'am".

_**[IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL]**_

_"7:45. I'm early. Awesome." _Sakura thought smiling to herself. Even though the bus left her she ended up outrunning it and actually had the audacity to stick her tongue out at the driver when it stopped at a red light.

She stretched out her foot, about to take a step to cross the road to the school when a limousine with a loud horn shooed her out of the street with a sudden jerked parking.

An old man got out and asked her if she was okay but was immediately shouted at with an order to open the back door. He apologized and went to open the door. A foot in an extremely high high heel stepped unto the pavement and a girl came out flashing her hair.

The wind conveniently blew, making her entrance look even more dramatic. Sakura raised her eyebrows in awe and confusion. The girl was wearing the same uniform as she was, but she also had on accessories that Sakura was sure cost over 5 million each. The girl turned and looked and the pink haired child,

"If you paid attention to the road more, then my sad, pathetic driver wouldn't have to bother with you. Oh? you go to school here? Humph! Couldn't afford anything so you decided to dye your hair pink? You're even more pathetic than him! Jeffery, pick me up at 3:00 SHARP."

"What a rude little girl. If you ran me over I wonder who'd pay for my hospital bills..." Sakura said but quickly covered her mouth remembering what her mother told her about her quick tongue.

"What was that? You think just because you go to this school you're on equal ground with me? DON'T even try. Your life will be hell here if you do." and with that the girl pushed Sakura out of the way and walked across the road entering the school compound.

Sakura sighed, picked up her bag that fell, and followed the direction of the girl. She stood at the entrance and gaped. A sign above her head read "Green Leaf High School"

_"Green Leaf...and high...GANJA SCHOOL ROFL" _Sakura thought and snickered as she walked along the concrete pathway to the school building. She suddenly realized that the pathway was a lot longer than it seemed, especially when walking alone. And ESPECIALLY when everyone was in little groups on the lawn on both sides of the pathway glaring at her and sending looks of disgust her way. Sakura just discretely power walked her way into the building.

As she passed the girl from the limo earlier, the girl scoffed. On entering the building Sakura collapsed in the hallway,"...WHYISHEAVENSOFARAWAYSOMETIMES!" she said in a loud sigh of relief.

She quickly got up and brushed off her clothes and was about to take a step when the doors behind her opened and a stampede of children walked down the hall, some stopping at their lockers. Sakura was pushed along as if in the ocean and dropped off in an empty corridor shortly.

She got up and brushed off her butt muttering "Insensitive children". She turned around deciding to explore the hallway that 'chose her' when a voice called out to her.

"YOU!"

"Who Me?" Sakura replied just as loud.

"YES YOU!"

"I'm sorry we haven't met you must be mistaken-" Sakura said as she turned back around, slightly scared of the children at this new school.

"WAIT!" the girl called out and started to chase after. She had blonde hair kept in a high ponytail and a long side bang covering one eye.

Sakura ran back down the corridor but it was blocked by children walking at one mile per hour and just taking up space. _"Stupid cows! Move! Move cows move!" _Sakura thought jumping up and down on the spot.

Unfortunately the girl caught up with Sakura and glomped the child making her face plant the ground.

"Why must I be close to the ground all the time?" Sakura muttered under the weight of the blonde.

"Finally! I thought you'd never stop! I'm on the student council and it's my duty to know EVERYONE in this school. My name is Ino and I'd like to be your first friend!" The girl called Ino said perkily.

"GET OOOOFFFF~" Sakura groaned and the girl jumped off startled. Sakura got up and sighed once again. She looked up at the girl angrily but her face suddenly changed to one of shock and then a small smile as she shook hands with the cheery person in front of her.

_"She's so perky...and she's really pretty too. She must be popular with all the guys..."_

"Sooooooo?" Ino asked leaning forward.

"What?" Sakura said taking a step back. 'Weirdo' on her face staring back at Ino.

"Am I gonna be your first friend?"

"Uh, okay?" Sakura said, still scared.

"Great! Let me give you a tour around your new school then!" Ino said loudly.

"Or your new prison..." a voice said from behind the two sending chills down the pink-haired girl's spine.

Sakura turned around to see a brunette twirling a kunai around her finger and smirking evilly. Sakura jumped and took a step back. Ino did the opposite.

"Tenten! You're here too! Welcome to a new term! This is my new friend- what's you name again?" the blonde said turning to the girl beside her who was sweat dropping.

"Haruno Sakura."

"That's nice! Now let's get going. If only Hinata was here..." Ino trailed off looking around.

"I'm here." a slightly shorter girl replied and Sakura jumped away with hands blocking, just in case.

"That was fast. Now the gang's all here! Let's get going!" Ino said, putting an arm around the two girls' shoulders and walking down the corridor.

"Come on Sakura! This tour is pointless if you're not here!" Ino shouted out without looking behind once.

"! Coming!" Sakura called and ran to catch up with them.

_**[IN THA HALLWEH]**_

"**AHAAAA!"**

"What's that?" Sakura asked startled by the sudden scream.

"Oh that's just Naruto. His big mouth can be heard anywhere in the school." Ino. Sakura nodded her head and just accepted the information without thinking too much on it.

"Let's see what's happening." Hinata said in her soft voice.

"Be prepared for disappointment Sakura." Tenten said and Sakura looked at the brunette with a confused face as the group walked to the shout.

**"YOU DID IT SASUKE-TEME! YOU STOLE MY RAMEN! YOU JUST COULDN'T DENY THE IRRESISTABLE TASTE OF BROCCOLI CHOCOLATE SUSHI COULD YOU!"** a blonde haired boy with an orange bag shouted out while pointing a finger at another boy with navy blue hair.

Sakura assumed he was 'Sasuke'.

"EWWWWWWWW!" was the response from the people surrounding the two and the crowd started to disperse. The look on Sasuke's face showed that he was thinking the same thing in his head.

"**I HAVE PROOF! THIS IS YOUR CAP I CAUGHT FROM YOUR HEAD AS YOU LEFT THE KITCHEN AND RAN OUT!"**

Sasuke put his hands in his pocket, leaned off the wall, and walked towards Naruto.

"Dobe, if I ever wanted to eat something that disgusting, I could have someone get it for me. And this isn't my hat. It's yours."

The boy flipped the blonde's cap over to show a square of cloth sowed in with the words 'property of the 5th principal' written badly on it.

"Oh...sorry about that Sasuke...hehe...but if it wasn't you...then...and he was trying to steal my cap too! That teme..."

"Hn." Sasuke said and walked off. A girl ran after him after sticking her tongue out at Naruto and telling him not to bother Sasuke.

_"Well that was pointless. I guess this school is just full of a bunch of kids from rich families with connections because this one is DEFINITELY not a smart one."_

Sasuke walked past the group, glancing at Sakura without stopping. The girl that followed Sasuke was the same girl that almost ran Sakura over with her limo and she told Sakura not to bother Sasuke either with a glare.

Sakura, however, didn't see the girl glare at her because Naruto shouted out again.

**"WHO'S THAT!"** he shouted out, pointing at her.

**WELL THERE YOU HAVE IT! THE FIRST CHAPTER OF MY HIGH SCHOOL STORY! XDFor the second time Itachi doesn't show up in the first chapter but he may just come in the second so stay tuned! **


	2. Chapter 2 First Day part 2

**OH EM GEH I ISH SO HAPPEH RIGHT NOW CUZ PEOPLE LIKE MY STOREH CHYA XD! WOOT!XDDDD**

**Okay yeah ANYWAYS. All or most [I'm not sure] of the problems stated in the summary will come up in this next chapter so this is where the plot thickens I hope you enjoy this next chapter! :D**

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARU- NARU NARUTO

((As usual:)))

normal font for conversing

_Italics are for telepathy [lol]_

[brackets are me commenting on my own work cuz that's how I am]

**ANGRY PEOPLE USE THIS. ISN'T IT EFFECTIVE?**

SHOUTING PEOPLE USE CAPS ONLY THOUGH XO!

+THE CRISIS OF A CHERRY BLOSSOM+

_**previously:**_ "Who's that?" Naruto shouted as he saw Sakura.

Chapter 2 - First Day Part 2

Narrator: _A cherry blossom looks very pretty as it slowly falls to the ground...but sometimes, the reason it started falling may not be as beautiful..._

Other students in the area turned to look at Sakura and the pink-haired girl looked around.

_"Who me? He couldn't possible mean me, not again."_

Sakura, on looking around, also noticed her new friends had left her alone in the hallway, making it even more obvious that Naruto was talking about her.

_"Wow thanks guys."_

"You!" Naruto shouted out.

"Who Me?" Sakura shouted back just as loud.

"Yes You!" Naruto replied as if shouting this loud was something normal for conversations.

"I'm sorry we haven't met you must be mistaken-" Sakura said as she turned around and walked away.

"WAIT!" Naruto shouted out and started to chase her down the corridor.

_"This is déjà vu! What's wrong with these children! I gotta get away! He runs faster than Ino I knew I should've worn my sneakers instead of these new shoes Mom bought!" _Sakura thought as she tried her best to run in her slight heels that clacked on the floor so Naruto always new where she was.

As Sakura turned the corner a hand grabbed her and pulled her into a room and the door closed instantly. The sudden jerk caused her to drop one of her books.

"You're safe now Sakura-chan!" Ino shouted out but was told to shut up by Tenten and shh-ed by Hinata. The blonde apologized and said the same thing softly making everyone sweat drop.

Naruto stopped running in front of the door.

"Where'd she go? She looked preeeeeety." Naruto said to himself with a creepy smile that made him look like a pervy old man.

All the girls in the room that was actually a janitor closet had to try their best not to burst out laughing right that instant, especially Ino. Sakura, on the other hand, shivered.

He looked down at the floor.

"Oh a book! The name is Ha-ru-no Sa-ku-ra...must be hers! I'll keep it for her and use it as an opportunity! I'm so smart! heehee." The blonde said to himself and as the bell rang for school to start he frolicked, swinging the book in his hand, as he went to class.

When they thought he was out of earshot, Ino and Tenten guffawed so loud that people walking past got scared and ran to class. Sakura was, however, irritated and opened the door making the two fall on their heads painfully.

"The bell rang it's time to go to class." Sakura said in monotone to hide her anger.

It worked because Ino and Tenten thought she wasn't upset at all and began to tease her.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOH Sakura already got a man on the first day! You got it going on! HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA" the blonde said unable to hold in her laughter.

"And none other than the blonde idiot Uzumaki Naruto! LOL!"

"Hinata looks like you have a rival now! HAHAHA!" Ino said jokingly but her face changed to concern when everyone saw Hinata looking down, her bangs covering her face.

"Hi-Hinata it was just a joke so-I mean Sakura doesn't really-" Tenten tried to cheer up Hinata but stopped when the purple-haired girl brought her head up.

On her face was, determination? She held out her hand to Sakura.

"Let's...have a fair fight Sakura-san! I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!" she said firmly.

"OHHHHHHHH!" Ino and Tenten said in awe of Hinata's 'GUTSU' [guts].

"HUH!" was all Sakura could reply. She regained her composure and responded properly.

"Um, no Hinata you misunderstood. I don't like Naruto. He just thinks I'm pretty which means he didn't see me clearly...but that doesn't necessarily mean he likes me. I'm sure you've heard guys say that all the time to girls but they don't try to get with them afterwards or anything." Sakura said, Hinata's blazing eyes making her sweat drop.

"Well...I've never heard Naruto-kun say that to anyone before...so I...I will be observing you to see what he sparked his interest and I will SURPASS YOU IN IT!" Hinata resoluted and a light shone down on her. Ino and Tenten clapped.

Sakura only sweat dropped again. _"These people are crazy, and where is that light coming from!" _she thought.

"AH I'M GONNA BE LATE FOR MY FIRST CLASS ON MY FIRST DAY!" Sakura shouted out realizing the bell rang while they were still in the janitor closet.

"Don't worry what's your class?" Ino said but took Sakura's schedule before the girl could answer and determined it for herself.

"You're in my homeroom class awesome! I'll take care of her girls you go ahead!" Ino said bearing a fist to the empty hallway in front of her.

"We're ALL in the same homeroom child." Tenten said slightly angry that the blonde forgot something like that.

"Oh yeah sorry heehee. Let's go!" She shouted and the three ran off.

"W-Wait for-!" Sakura shouted but the two had already sprinted off. _"What is it, 2, 3 more years of this?"_ she thought to herself as she caught her schedule that had been harshly discarded into the air.

"Don't worry Sakura-san, I'll take you to homeroom." Hinata said with a smile.

"Oh thanks Hin- your smile looks so fake right now what's the catch." Sakura said with a sceptical look.

"I'm only leading you so I can observe you not out of courtesy." Hinata replied robotically with the same plastic smile.

"Ah, of course." Sakura nodded.

"Walk ahead please. Naruto saw you from a posterior point of view correct?" the robotic Hinata said more like a statement than a question.

"Uh, yes?" Sakura said, feeling a little scared of the girl behind her.

_**[AT HOMEROOM]**_

On approaching the classroom, Sakura heard a male's voice followed by Ino and Tenten's.

"You girls are late! Even later than me! You know the drill! Even though it's never happened before..."

Ino and Tenten grabbed one ear with one hand and one leg with another and started to hop.

"We are the slowpokes of Green Leaf High, watch up hop up and down. We are the slowpokes of Green Leaf High," they looked at each other, "KAKASHI SENSEI'S SUCH A CLOWN!" and Ino took off her heels and started to beat up the man with them.

"HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME SAY THOSE THINGS IN FRONT OF SASUKE-KUN!" she shouted.

Sakura and Hinata entered on this scene.

Ino looked at said boy after saying that with one of those dramatic do-you-love-me-? faces. The boy, who was talking to someone else looked up and around the class,

"Hmm? I heard my name?" he said while looking everywhere except for at Ino.

The blonde sunk to her knees, a sad aura being emitted from her. Sakura chuckled to herself and the sliver-haired man that was being beaten up by the blonde previously looked up at Sakura.

"Oh you must the new student, Miss Haruno Sakura. Please tell the class something about yourself." Kakashi said, gesturing to the students who were barely paying attention.

"Um, my name is Haruno Sakura." she said with a bow. The class started to laugh

"Something I never said..." Kakashi said, unamused.

"Oh uh, from today I attend Green Leaf High School let's all do our best!" she said with another bow lower than the previous one.

A group of class clowns jumped up and shouted Yeah! giving the 'nice-guy' pose after. Everyone started to laugh.

Kakashi sighed. "You're not gonna tell us anything are you?" he said, not pleased with her being difficult.

"Nope!" she beamed.

The teacher sighed again, "Well you can just take a seat at one of the empty chairs in the classroom." he said.

Sakura nodded and took her steps slowly as she looked around.

"Sakura Come sit with us!" Ino called out after pushing Naruto out of his chair.

"Hey that's my spot!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"So? Now it's Sakura's. Come on Sakura."

"NO IT'S MY CHAIR!"

"Don't you want to give her your chair? After all she is preeeeeeety." Ino said holding back a snicker.

Naruto froze, his cheeks pink. "Uh uh th-that's..." the blonde stuttered.

"It's okay guys there are more than one empty chair here." Sakura said sweat dropping and avoiding Hinata's stare.

Sakura took a seat beside Sasuke and the entire class gasped as soon as she sat.

"What what's wrong?" Sakura asked, suddenly afraid.

Groups of girls started whispering about how rude or brave she was.

Sakura shrugged since no one was telling her if she did something wrong. Since Sasuke was also the only one beside her she turned to him and offered her hand.

"Hey my name's Sakura. I hope we can get along!" she said just like she practiced with her mom back home.

The entire room gasped even more loudly than before and girls and even boys started whispering.

"Why are you people whispering and looking at me I know you're talking about me. WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING WRONG?" Sakura shouted as she accused the class with her eyes, looking for an explanation that they weren't giving her.

The girl that almost ran her over with her limo got up from her seat on the other side of Sasuke and sat in the empty chair in front of Sasuke sideways. She gave the boy a smile before turning to Sakura.

"I thought I told you not to bother MY Sasuke-kun. Since you couldn't pick up why most of the seats around him are empty: MY Sasuke-kun doesn't socialize with just anybody. Only 'certain' people can talk with him. Besides, he would never talk to some like YOU, much less shake your hand." the girl snorted and got out of the chair like she was showing off for the boy, walking slowly back to her chair and gracefully sitting. She crossed one leg over the other at the knee and quirked and eyebrow at Sakura, an smile on her face like she won.

Sakura looked at the boy in front of her. He was emotionless, like nothing that happened fazed him at all.

_"Ouch much?"_

The pink-haired girl began to withdraw her hand slowly. "Uh, sorr-" she was about to apologize when the boy took her hand and abruptly shook it.

"Uchiha Sasuke." he said in monotone, released her hand, and went back to heading up his book.

Sakura looked at him in shock.

"EEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH!" was the classroom's reaction.

The girl beside him looked like she just saw death. Sakura looked at her and smiled while quirking her eyebrow as if to say I-guess-he-socializes-with-me.

"Sa-Sa-Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!" was all the girl could say. Some of the guys clapped Sakura, who just shook her head while she laughed. The girls in the class continued to whisper.

_"Interesting."_ Kakashi thought as he moved back to his desk; his smile hidden by his mask.

_"Well I'll admit that he IS good-looking, but not hot enough to distract me from getting my grades leaving the school and it's crazy children. I wonder if with the school's name and all it's true that...nah. Just focus on your grades for now Haruno. Dad, you WILL recognize me."_

"Well class today we're going to be assigning people roles like beadle and secretary and stuff." The man said as he wrote the positions on the board.

Everyone had moved to their seats but the girls were still whispering. Angry marks were showing around Sakura head. _"Still whispering? How can these girls talk for so long about something that lasted 3 seconds!"_

Ino stood up and banged her hands on her desk to get everyone's attention.

"Stop talking about her! She's a new student and it's her first day! And for ONCE there's a girl that could look at the hottest guy in the world and not go star struck so don't go forming groups against her you can CLEARLY see she's not a threat!" the blonde shouted out in one breath.

The class went quiet and everyone stared at her. Then they all looked at Sakura who lifted her eyebrows as she smiled and gave a small wave. There was then murmurs of agreement in the class that she was DEFINITELY not a threat and that they were prettier than she was etc.

_"Uh, thanks Ino!...I guess..." _Sakura thought and started to pretend to write so she could ignore the class.

"SO! Who for beadle? They have the duty of keeping the class quiet and orderly." Kakashi said taking back the class' attention.

"Karin! She's has the most authority in this class!" someone shouted out and everyone agreed.

The girl who tried to diss Sakura but failed stood up and flashed her hair. "Of course I will accept this duty! I must keep the class quiet so as not to hurt MY Sasuke-kun's ears!" she said and giggled.

"Kay whatever..." Kakashi mumbled to himself and wrote her name beside beadle,

"And assistant beadle? Their job is to take attendance for the class every time we meet for homeroom." Kakashi said ignoring the dramatic way Karin was sitting down.

Ino jumped up, "I'll do it!"

Kakashi wrote down her name.

"Environmental Monitor? Clean up the class?" He continued.

There were sounds of denial and disgust, probably from experience, in response.

"How about Sakura here?" Karin said with a gesture to the pink-haired girl. Sakura looked up, "Huh?"

"First word was not No. You missed your chance at refusing sorry!" a boy shouted out.

"Sakura's the Garbage Girl!" another girl shouted out.

"Yeah the lower class should clean up after us!"

The class began to shout out things like that. "Huh? Wait what?" Sakura was confused because she wasn't listening to what was happening.

"Looks like you'll be our Environmental Monitor Sakura. Please do your best." Kakashi said with a hidden smile.

Sakura nodded slowly, still unsure of how she got this job. The bell rang and every one ran out of the classroom.

"We'll continue this next time we meet!" Kakashi shouted over everyone else and the bell.

_**[IN DA HALLWEH AS THEY LEAVE THE CLASSROOM]**_

"You know Sasuke-teme, Ino's right. Sakura-chan really IS the first girl not to fall for you." Naruto said as he walked with the silent boy in the hallway.

"...Hn." Sasuke replied and walked off.

"Wait for me Sasuke-kun!" Karin shouted and ran after the boy in her high heels.

_**[IN DA HALLWEH A LITTLE BEHIND THE PEOPLE ABOVE]**_

Sakura caught up with Ino, Tenten and Hinata.

"Hey Ino! Thanks for sticking up for me. You're a real friend!" Sakura said smiling.

"Huh? Who are you again?" the blonde said giving Sakura a cautious look.

"What do mean? I'm Sakura. New kid here? You showed me around on your express tour? Just stood up for me awhile ago?" the pink-haired girl replied.

"Oh that! Well, I was just doing my part as loving and generous student council president." Ino said and gave Sakura a smile before turning around to leave.

Tenten and Hinata followed the blonde down the hall. Sakura ran up to join the trio.

"So what class do you guys have next? I have Chemistry. Should we meet up at lunch?" Sakura said trying to start a conversation.

Ino started to laugh but Sakura's confused face made her stop. "Oh you were serious? Look Saki."

"Sakura." Sakura corrected her.

"Whatever. I know I said I'd be your friend, but I didn't mean we were literally gonna hang out and stuff." Ino stated.

"Then, why'd you say it in the first place?" Sakura asked, still confused.

Ino sighed. "Okay let's try this again. Everyone in our homeroom class and in our year is my friend too. Did you know that? But you don't see them all running behind me asking where I'm going or trying to have lunch with me do you? Exactly. You're one of them."

"So, Tenten and Hinata are your 'true' friends or something?" Sakura said, starting to become sceptical.

"THEM? We just have most of our classes together so we naturally stick together. Plus, they're also on the council with me so we always have business to discuss. That's all. Get it now? It's my duty to know everyone, but it's just my duty. Well I'll see you when I see you Saki!" the blonde said and walked off. Tenten and Hinata looked at each other, hesitating, but Ino called them to follow her and they obeyed immediately.

Sakura hesitated but scoffed to show her disgust and turned to walk in the opposite direction when she realized others were watching her.

_"She was just, pretending? And they were playing along? Guess looks are deceiving. I wonder if there are any REAL friends in this school..."_ Sakura thought as she slowly walked away.

Ino suddenly turned back to Sakura and called out to her. "Oh and Forehead girl!"

_"Forehead-!"_ Sakura quickly snapped back around with an angry face.

"**WHAT?"** she replied.

Ino was taken back a bit but continued, "Since you haven't fallen for Sasuke-kun yet I'll tell you from now. Sasuke-kun is OFF LIMITS. There are a LOT of girls waiting in line for a chance with him and I'M NEXT so join the back and wait your turn!"

Sakura, still pissed that the nickname 'forehead-girl' followed her from prep school, just scoffed and waved Ino off as she turned and walked down the corridor away from the trio.

"...Good!" Ino said and stormed off, flustered at Sakura's reaction. It wasn't what she expected. Tenten and Hinata ran after the blonde.

Sakura then turned to you and said,"**PLEASE REVIEW XO"**

**I'M ENDING CHAPTER TWO HERE [Even though I don't really want to lol] BECAUSE IT LOOKS LONG ENOUGH ON MSWORD SO YEAH. I want a chapter 3 review XO**

**BUT DONT FRET ITASAKU FANS I STOPPED IT RIGHT BEFORE ITACHI ENTERS SO HE'LL LITERALLY BE IN THE BEGINNING OF CHAPTER 3 XD! Please review I like reviews XO!**


	3. Chapter 3  New Friend Prankster Appears

**Kay Nobody likes my story anymore T.T but I will still upload! XO**

**...T_T**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

_**previously:**_ "...Good!" Ino said and stormed off, flustered at Sakura's reaction. It wasn't what she expected. Tenten and Hinata ran after the blonde.

Chapter 3 - First Day part 3 [when will it end?]

_**Narrator**_: "_A cherry blossom faces many dangers as it makes its journey to the ground..."_

Sakura walked down the hallway looking at her schedule.

_"Well I just got fooled. And yeah Sasuke's 'hot' but I'm here for grades, not boys...besides, I'm sure there are other good looking guys in this school. It IS full of rich kids after all...they can afford plastic surgery..."_ distracted by her thoughts, she didn't see the guy walking in front of her and bumped into him.

She fell back and her butt hit the floor. He bent down to help her up. She looked up.

"Like this guy..." she said, thinking out loud as she took his offered hand.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"! Oh! Nothing! Sorry, the bump must've, you know..." she mumbled.

"Oh! Yeah..." he said and looked down at one of the books in his hand to avoid the awkward silence that was coming up, "Haruno...Sakura?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah that's me." Sakura replied smiling.

"Pretty..." he said thoughtfully and smiled at her making her blush.

"W-w-what?" she stuttered, her cheeks clearly red.

"Your name silly! Thought I was hitting on you or something?" The boy teased.

"W-what? No! Of course not! I told you, the bump..." she trailed off and looked away.

"Suure. Well I don't get your hopes up. I'm not one of those guys that go for any girl they can get. I have 'taste'." the boy continued with a smirk on seeing Sakura's reaction.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she said angrily.

The boy just laughed, "Nothing! Nothing! Uchiha Itachi." he said, changing the subject.

"?"

"My name this time."

"Oh hehee. Right." Sakura said sheepishly.

"...well?" Itachi asked after waiting a couple of seconds.

"What?" Sakura asked, confused.

"I complimented your name don't you have anything to say about mine? Like it's hottest name you've ever heard and fits me perfectly or something?" Itachi asked with a serious face.

"...You can't be serious." the girl replied giving him a look.

"Yeah it's not that great a name I know...Itachi...thanks mom." the boy said glaring at the wall.

Sakura giggled.

"You're new here aren't you?" he asked.

"Yup! Is it that obvious?" Sakura whispered.

"VERY" was the response.

"Really?" she asked starting to freak.

"Nah you're just fun to mess with. But you're definitely a different from the other girls." he said grinning and giving her a thumbs up.

Sakura blushed and looked away.

"Oh guess what!" Itachi said and Sakura looked at him.

"What?"

"Whatever class you have now, you're late for it!" he said grinning.

Sakura gasped. "!"

Itachi ruffled her hair, "Haha see ya!" he shouted out as he ran down the now empty corridor.

"No wait do you know where-!" she started but the guy had already left.

"...the chem. lab is...great. All alone in the corridor again. I hope the chemistry teacher doesn't have a punishment for late comers like the homeroom guy."

_**[KEMYSTERY KLAS]**_

Sakura burst through the door and with a low bow started her apology for arriving late.

"I'm sorry I'm late I'm a new student here and I couldn't find the Chemistry lab because the room listed in my schedule turned out to be an art studio and-" but she was cut off by another kid,

"Hey! She's not here yet so shut up and find a seat quick!" a boy shouted out.

Sakura looked up and around the laboratory. There were only students sitting down and chatting loudly.

"WATCH OOOOOOUTTTT!" a voice called out behind the pink-haired girl and she turned around to see Naruto bump into her.

"Sorry about-" Naruto started but froze and started to blush when he realized he was on top of her. Sakura, however was unfazed and in her monotone voice to hide her anger told him,

"PLEASE. ."

the blonde followed her order immediately by jumping up and stepping aside. She got up, ignoring his hand for help.

"Awesome we're both early! And you're in my chem. class too! I'm Naruto!" the boy beside Sakura said, bursting with the energy of _'love'_.

"Listen we need to get a seat before-" Naruto started when a poof of smoke appeared in between both of them and two hands emerged, one grabbing each child by the arm.

"Ho ho ho! Looks like I've got not one but TWO volunteers for an experiment today!" a voice said heartily as the smoke cleared to reveal a woman with purple spiky hair clad in a long yellow cloak and wearing gloves and what looked like rain boots.

"Um, what?" Sakura said purely out of bewilderment.

"Oh you must be the new kid, Haruno Sakura, right?"

Sakura nodded. The lady turned to the class and shouted out, "GUYS SHE'S NEW."

The class replied without any emotion, "Kay." and went back to chatting.

"I'll be your Chemistry teacher. You can call me Chem Ladeh." she said grinning, but Sakura's face made her sigh, "Alright if you insist, call me Anko-sensei. Let's Start experimenting!" Anko shouted out to the class before Sakura could respond.

"Naruto! Pass the Welch's Grape Juice! We'll be doing Diffusion in class today." the lady said as she walked to a table with beakers and droppers.

"Welch's...don't you mean Potassium Manganate?" Sakura asked and the whole class gave her a look, "Potassium What?" they all said at the same time, then laughed because they said it at the same time. Some high-fived and others called Jinx.

Sakura sweat dropped. The teacher talked up, "Yeah...but nobody in this class can remember that so for now it's Welch's Grape Juice! Doesn't it look like it?"

"I guess..." Sakura replied.

"Why don't you take a seat down right there. I'll only need Naruto this time." Anko said as she moved the equipment to the centre table.

_"But if you call it that, won't someone try to drink it?"_ Sakura thought as she sat in the front [the only empty seats were the front row].

Naruto walked like a duck as carried a small bottle of 'grape juice' to Anko with both hands. She used the dropper to take up some of the liquid and dropped a few into a clear plastic container of water.

"Watch carefully." she said as she added it.

"!" the class responded as purple vapour glided throughout the container. Sakura banged her head on the desk.

_"I know Chemistry was my lowest grade but how'd I get stuck with THESE PEOPLE!"_

The class seemed like it took forever to Sakura, and she felt her life slowly draining as time went by. As soon as the bell rang she sprinted out. She didn't even open her notebook.

_**[IN DA HALLWEH]**_

"FINALLY!" Sakura shouted out, throwing her hands into the air. Other students in the hallway looked at her and started whispering.

Sakura quickly put her hands down and walked down the hall. As she walked people called her weirdo and made comments like, "is that really how commoners behave in school?"

Sakura was feeling pissed and her steps were getting heavier. She suddenly remembered Anko asking her to deliver a letter to Sasuke when she saw the boy in the hallway, surrounded by yellow and red spikes of hair.

Walking towards the trio, she called out, "Hey Sasuke!"

The hall quickly quieted down and everyone looked in Sasuke's direction. Sakura got chills from the sudden silence but continued to walk.

Karin, who was clinging onto the boy's shoulder and giggling quickly blocked Sakura from approaching Sakura and folded her arms in front of her, leaning on one hip.

"What do you want with MY Sasuke-kun pinky?" Karin said attitudinally [lol this word wasn't corrected by Word XD]

"Oh I was just told to give this letter to him by Miss Anko...what did she tell me to call her...?" Sakura trailed off and looked away, trying to think of what the lady told her before the hour of boredom.

"What's this? A love letter?" Karin asked, grabbing the white object from Sakura's hand.

"I don't know. I'm just the messenger." Sakura replied innocently.

"Don't play dumb. I knew you were just pretending earlier. You're just like everyone else. You DO like MY Sasuke-kun and you're trying to send him a love letter." Karin said, jabbing Sakura's shoulder as she talked.

"I told you it's not like that! It's from Anko-sensei!" Sakura retaliated. Sasuke put his hands in his pocket and walked off with a sigh. Karin looked at him with a sad face, then turned back to Sakura smiling evilly.

"See? Sasuke's not amused with your little joke. And I'm not either. I thought I told you to leave him alone."

"Why won't you listen to me? I don't want YOUR Sasuke-kun. I was just told to give him the frickin' letter!"

"Next time you want to give him a love letter or a box of chocolate or whatever, drop it off in the box beside the nurse's office. That's Sasuke's 'love box'. Any girl who wants to express their feelings does it and there are NO exceptions. Okay? Now,"

Karin held up the letter and ripped it up in Sakura's face, "Run along, little girl."

She flashed her hair and, with one hand on her waist, walked like a model down the corridor in the direction Sasuke went.

_**[ELSEWHERE IN THA HALLWEH]**_

"Told you it wouldn't work Kakashi. You sure Sakura likes him?" Anko said from behind a column in the hall way. The two teachers watched Sakura kneel and pick up the pieces frantically.

"Just give it time Anko. Even if she doesn't like him, I'm sure she'll make an impact on him somehow. Then it'll be easier for his future wife." The masked man said while reading a book.

Anko looked at him with a face startled by his foresight. However, her face dropped when she saw him reading, "Please tell me you did NOT get that from your book."

"Hmm? Oh, not exactly...it's slightly different so we should get a happy ending." he said with a smile.

"Should get a happy- how does the original end?"

_**[BACK WITH SAKURA]**_

_"Oh no Anko-sensei's letter! Stupid self-centred girl! What's wrong with her! Why must every girl like that guy? I'm really starting to hate him right now! I wonder if I can fix this up and still give him."_ Sakura thought as she quickly gathered the pieces in her hand.

_"Oh yeah I still have class!"_ she remembered and started to run down the hall with the paper pieces in her hand.

As she passed a pair of boys talking, one of them put out their foot and made her trip.

"Whoops!" the boy said as Sakura hit the floor. Hard.

"Oooh. That sounded like it hurt. You okay Sakura-chan?" the boy said sweetly as he crouched down to her and picked up a piece of paper.

Sakura looked up and her face flushed with anger, "Itachi I can't believe you-" she started as she raised her hand to punch him but stopped when he started to read one of the pieces he picked up,

"O-m-g I love you so much Sasuke-kun. Please marry me I'll die if you say no-what is this crap please don't tell me you like him too?" Itachi said dropping the pieces he picked up out of disgust and brushing off his hands as if the paper had 'cooties' or something.

"Huh?" Sakura reached out and picked up the paper piece Itachi dropped and read it for herself.

"...WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!" she shouted out looking at the paper as if it could answer.

"I'm asking you that! Are you really one of my little brother's crazed fan girls too?" the boy asked, looking slightly hurt.

"? NO WAY! Anko-sensei told me to give him this letter..." Sakura trailed off.

The two suddenly looked at each other, "TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIP!" they shouted at the same time and stared at each other for awhile, then looked away saying "Nah!" simultaneously and laughing at their similarity.

"But then, Anko-sensei was trying setting me up!" Sakura concluded.

"Hmm, I wouldn't put it past her. And you said you don't like Sasuke right?" Itachi pondered.

"Yes."

"Have you actually SEEN him before?"

"YES."

"And you didn't go lovu-lovu mode or anything?"

"What?"

"Never mind. But you really ARE the first girl not to fall for that emo-kid. Seriously what do girls see in him."

"I know right."

"I'm way hotter."

"Ye-NO."

"I'm not?"

"No I didn't mean- wait."

Itachi started to laugh, "I'm just kidding you. I don't need someone like YOU to confirm whether I'm hot or not."

Sakura pouted making Itachi chuckle again.

"Haha that's a cute face! But since when did you wear glasses?" he asked.

"? Oh I always did." Sakura said touching her glasses to see if there were really there. She had put them on in Chem. class to read the tiny scribble on the board saying there was a test next class and left them on since.

"You look better without them." he said thoughtfully as he bent closer and stared at her face.

"W-what do you care?" Sakura said, pushing her glasses higher up on her nose as she averted his eyes. Her cheeks pink.

"You're right I don't but you'd definitely get a guy faster if you switched to contacts." he said straightening up.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" she said sourly.

"What you were hoping I cared?" he teased again but continued before she could respond, "You still want these?"

She looked at his finger pointing to the pieces of paper on the ground.

"N-NO OF COURSE NOT I WANT TO BURN THEM NOW THAT I KNOW WHAT THE LETTER SAID." she shouted flushed.

Itachi only laughed, "Whatever you say...you know," he paused to kick a piece, and with his hands in his pockets he looked at her and continued, "You have a knack of running late for you classes don't you?" he grinned at her.

Realization suddenly hit her, "! Oh- Again? Stop doing that to me!" she said and started to walk ahead.

"Hey it's not like I'm not late for mine either. Let me at least escort you to your class. Not like you know where it is anyways." he said as he watched her walk.

She stopped suddenly and stood silently for a few seconds. Then turning around and clasping her hands together said sweetly, "Would you please?"

Itachi stared at her for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. "What was that?"

"Hey I asked nicely so now you have to!" she pouted again.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." he said as he blew her off with his hand, though his face showed he was trying to hold in his laughter.

Sakura followed Itachi down the hallway and took three turns.

"That door right there." Itachi said and pointed to a pair of slide doors.

"Okay thanks." Sakura said and smiled at him.

She braced herself for being scolded for being late, and slid both doors open wide. She was greeted by a group of half-naked boys in boxers and towels screaming at her to get out.

Itachi held his stomach and laughed loudly, "Oh that's gold! I haven't done that to someone in forever!" he said in between laughter.

Sakura slammed the doors closed quickly with a sorry and turned to Itachi with a red face that looked like she was going to cry.

When Itachi saw her he was about to apologize but that face quickly changed to an angry one [the expression was only one of shock. realization hit fast.] and Sakura ran and tried to punch him but he caught her fist.

"Whoa! Calm down it was only a joke." he said still grinning.

"But now I'm even later than I was before!" She said angrily, her cheeks still pink from the scene before.

"Okay fine this time I'll definitely carry you to Math." he said with a sigh that changed to a smile as he remembered the previous scene.

"You better! And it's not funny!" she said as she started to follow behind him, "One of them wasn't covered..." she said quietly looking at the ground.

Itachi, on the other hand, was dying, with laughter.

"Oh Sakura I'm so glad I met you You've made my life at this boring school so much funner!" he said and looked back at her with a grin.

Her eyes widened and she looked away blushing. Itachi started to smirk and he leaned closer to her, "Falling for me yet?" he said with a smile like the Cheshire cat.

Sakura pushed him away, "H-hell no I'd never fall for a guy who uses me for his own entertainment!"

Itachi sighed, "Yeah that probably wasn't fun for you was it...Okay I'll be nice for the rest of the way to your class, how about that?" he said holding out his hand for her to shake.

Sakura stared at it, the crossed her hands and looked away, "Nope. Not buying it."

"Come on~" he said as he grabbed her hand and started running down the corridor. "Wa-!" was all that could escape her mouth during the tug.

She almost stumbled but caught her balance and ran in time with him. She stared at her hand in his, her cheeks red all the while. She didn't notice they had slowed down and stopped in front of a door till Itachi spoke up,

"Here we are princess." he said with an accomplished smile.

She looked up suddenly with a "huh? Oh right..."

"Ohh~? Don't tell me you were staring at our _interlocked hands_ the entire way like those girls in those lovey-dovey movies?" he teased.

Her cheeks flared, "N-no why would I? I was watching my feet to make sure I didn't fall these are new shoes!"

"Mhm? Your cheeks look a little _tickled pink_ to me." he continued, a smirk on his face.

"T-that was...because...we were running so fast!" Sakura argued back. She pretended to breath hard as a cover up.

Itachi shook his head, "Of course. You have a response for everything don't you?"

"I try." Sakura replied smiling sweetly.

"Oh you first this time." she said nudging him towards the door.

Itachi opened the classroom door. He obliged and entered the room dramatically,

"Hey I found this one wandering the halls!" he declared to the teacher and the class.

"OMG IT'S ITACHI!"

"ITACHI YOU'RE SO HOT!"

"I LOVE YOU ITACHI!"

ITA-Oh yeah Sasuke-kun..." one of the girls mumbled and all the girls that were squealing before looked at the silent boy at the back.

Karin crossed one leg over the other at the knees and leaned back in her chair, "Guess we know who's loyal now." she said with disgust.

Some of the girls began to whisper apologies to Sasuke, who ignored them. He was glaring at the older boy standing at the door.

"Ah yes, the red-head who wants to enter the family. I wonder if it's nice to see you again." Itachi said with a playful expression.

Karin looked like she was about to lunge for Itachi but the teacher spoke up first, noticing Sakura enter in behind him.

"Oh Miss Haruno. I had assumed you knew since you hadn't arrived yet. You'll be doing math with the year ahead at this school, particularly Itachi's class. Since you both will have this subject later on in the day, you will have a free session now."

"EEEEHHHHHHHH!" the class responded. The teacher gave them a I-wasn't-talking-to-you-look-so-don't-comment look and they quieted down.

"How come she gets to get a free session?'

"Is she really that smart? Isn't she a commoner?"

"Well I guess that's the only real reason she's here anyways."

"Yeah, couldn't be because she's rich."

"Quiet down all of you!" the teacher said crossly and the class was silent, "Itachi don't you have a class now?"

"Ah, right! I just wanted to make sure this girl got to her class. She IS new after all."

"NO FAIR ITACHI~" a group of girls whined and when he turned to them they swooned. Sakura face palmed and Itachi gave her a peace sign and a grin before turning around.

"Well I'll be going now! See ya at home Little brother! I love you! Let's go Sakura-chan!" he said happily and pushed Sakura out of the class.

"AWWW HE CARES FOR HIS BROTHER!"

"NO FAIR SAKURA GETS TO HANG OUT WITH ITACHI-SAMA!"

"HE TOUCHED HER!"

Flames were seen in the girls' eyes and the guys in the classroom felt scared.

*crack* Karin looked beside her and saw that Sasuke had broken his pencil.

"Sasuke-kun?" she stared at him but his face was emotionless.

_**TADAH A CHAP OF ITASAKU ONLY HOW WAS IT XD?**_

_**Please review and tell me! X3**_


	4. Chapter 4 Math II

**Since nobody reads this I think I'll just stop putting anything here apart from the disclaimer...**

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Naruto

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 4

_**Narrator:**_ _...sometimes when a cherry blossom falls, it finds it's not the only one falling...a journey is always easier when you don't have to take it alone..._

Itachi decided to show Sakura where the Math II class was in case he wasn't able to 'escort' her there at that time and so the two walked down the corridor.

"Great. Now those girls have ANOTHER reason to whisper about me and glare at me." Sakura complained as she walked.

"But don't you feel special that out of all the girls in the school I chose you to spend time with?" Itachi said trying to cheer her up...I think...

Sakura, however, gave him a look that said try again. "Um, sorry?" Itachi asked more than apologized.

"Forget it I'll never get along with them. After all I'm 'a commoner'." Sakura said making 'V's with her fingers and bending them as she said the last part.

"Well you kind of are..." Itachi mumbled looking away.

"What was that? Are siding with them? Sakura snapped.

"No! I was just saying that uh, the girls changing room was the door opposite to the boys changing room, the one you opened. Just telling you, for future reference...wouldn't want to have another embarrassment like that right? Hahaha!" Itachi fake laughed all the while avoiding eye contact.

Sakura didn't respond but nodded her head to show she heard. The boy beside her sighed.

"Well here it is. Math II!" Itachi said cheerfully. The anxiety of being in a class with a higher level got the better of her, and the pink haired girl quickly opened the door.

Itachi suddenly remembered something and turned to stop the girl but he was too late. As Sakura opened the door a bag of flour fell on her head. There was an awkward silence broken by a nasty cackle from inside the classroom. The rest of the class started to laugh as well.

Itachi ran in the class the moment it happened.

"S-Sakura are you okay?" Itachi asked the ghostly girl.

The guy with the villain laugh stood up, "Hey Itachi look! I finally got you! I got you

good didn't I? HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAA" he continued cackling.

Everyone else stopped laughing when they saw Itachi enter. And so all were staring at the boy who just asked Itachi if he 'got him good' with a WTF face when the person beside him was the one that actually got hit.

The boy, feeling the weight of everyone's stares, quieted down and finally realized, "Hey Itachi...since when were there two of you?"

The student beside him banged his head on the desk. The sound of many face palms were heard.

Itachi sighed, "No Hidan. I'm the only Itachi in this school. The person you hit is actually...Sakura? Sakura!" Itachi shouted as he ran outside the classroom.

Sakura had run out of the class when she felt no one was watching [hence when Hidan asked about the two Itachi's] and sprinted down the hall. She didn't really know the school yet so she decided to go back to her Math I class. She preferred the stares and whispers over the humiliation.

Itachi looked down the hall both ways but the entire hallway was empty. He looked down and saw footprints outlined by flour and followed them.

Sakura opened the class door angrily, entered, and took a seat at the front. There was silence for a moment. Even the teacher was a bit pale. After a few seconds, someone started to talk. It was soft at first because he was scared.

"a-a-a g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-GHOOOOOOOOOOOOST!" he ended shouting as he ran out of the classroom.

The rest of the class followed suit, flailing and screaming as they ran outside. A 'run Sasuke-kun don't let it touch you!' was heard among the shouts. Sakura sat in silence. She felt like crying but she willed herself not to. She decided to skip the crying and go straight to getting angry.

She curled her fingers into a fist, "That punk I can't believe he set me up like that he's horrible!" she shouted banging her fist on the desk in front of her.

"Who..." a quiet, slightly deep voice said from behind her. Sakura jumped a bit. She thought she was alone because everyone had ran away. "Uchiha Itachi" Sakura spat out as she turned around only to widen her eyes from shock.

"S-Sasuke...!" she stuttered. The boy just stared at her, his fingers interlocked and in front of his face as he leaned on his elbows on the table.

"Oh yeah you guys are brothers ri-" Sakura said trying to start conversation but as soon as she said brothers Sasuke stood up abruptly. He put his hands in his pants and began to walk down the aisle to leave the class. [They were sitting in the same column]

_**[IN THE HALLWAY - ITACHI]**_

The flour footprints were becoming faint when suddenly Itachi saw a large group of children running towards him screaming. He grabbed one of them as they passed.

"What's wrong?"

"There's a ghost in the school!"

"A ghost?...heh, wow...! where is she? I mean the ghost?"

"In the Math I class! Don't go there!"

"Kay thanks!" Itachi said and sprinted towards the class.

"...Were you even listening?" the boy he was talking to shouted out to him.

Itachi reached the class and kicked the door open. The sound made Sakura and Sasuke look to him. Itachi was shocked to find Sakura alone with his brother. Sasuke was beside her when he entered.

Sasuke immediately glared at his brother, but Itachi wasn't looking at him, he was looking at Sakura. The younger Uchiha became enraged at being ignored, but he thought of something as he looked at the bundle of flour sitting down.

_"What was here name again? Come on Itachi, say her name."_ Sasuke thought as he looked back to his brother with a smirk.

"Sakura-" Itachi started to apologize but Sakura cut him off by turning her head and crossing her hands.

_"My turn."_ the younger Uchiha smirked.

Sasuke bent slightly towards Sakura and offered his hand like a gentleman. "Let's get you cleaned up, Sakura." he said gently.

The sudden action completely shocked the other two people in the room. Sakura looked at Sasuke wondering what was going on. She took his hand and he helped her to stand and began to lead her out of the class.

As he walked towards and past his brother, he had a smirk on his face. As he left the class with Sakura, who was blushing and utterly speechless, Itachi realized Sasuke's motive and ran after them.

"Sakura!" Itachi called out to the girl, a hint of anger in his tone meant for his brother. The tone made her stop suddenly. She had never heard him shout at her. Somewhere in her mind she wondered what face matched such a shout, but she knew she couldn't look back at him.

The tug from her stop made Sasuke stop and look back at her. He turned around, "Don't worry, I'll take you to the infirmary and you can get a change of clothes there and wash off. There's a bathroom stall in there for patients. Let's hurry before the bell rings and everyone comes out." he said smiling at her.

Her cheeks immediately flared and she nodded hesitantly, "O-okay." The two began to walk again. Itachi was shocked that she was still following him. He called her name a few more times and right before the two turned Sasuke stopped, Sakura almost bumping into him.

"Why don't you go to class and leave her alone _big brother_. It's clear that this girl has no intention of talking to you right now." and he walked off as soon as he finished, pulling Sakura with him.

She turned to see Itachi's expression but she only saw the wall because Sasuke had turned the corner very sharply. She wondered what expression he had on his face, because he didn't call out her name or follow them.

For some reason, she felt sad. Then, she got angry at herself for feeling sad for no reason. She stopped her internal argument when Sasuke stopped walking and looked at the door in front of her that said 'nurse's office'.

"Th-thanks Sasuke. I really appreciate it..." she said softly, her cheeks were still red. He was looking at her with a very cold expression as she talked. But when she finished, he gave her a sheepish smile as he said 'you're welcome' before walking off.

As he walked down the corridor, he was wearing an expression so scary it would have scared the pants off of any ... a.k.a guy on the boxing team. who happened to walk past.

She covered her mouth and gasped when he smiled at her. She had never seen such a warm expression from such a handsome man. Her entire face went red after he left. She reached for the door and paused to look at her hand. It was the same one he held.

_"Sasuke...WAIT WHAT THE HELL! I do NOT like that guy. He's such extremely hot, that's all...VERY hot...but that's all."_ she confirmed to herself and opened the door.

_"I didn't know he was such a nice person though. I thought he was just very cold and ignore people all the time because he thought he was higher than them...guess not! Maybe he could be my first real friend!" _Sakura thought and smiled to herself at the thought of being friends with such a nice person.

"Welcome to the nurse's offi- wah! You're covered in flour!" a woman shouted out when she saw Sakura. Sakura nodded with a smile not knowing how to respond apart from yes I am.

"Um, okay please wash off in the bathroom I'll get some extra clothes for you. What's your uniform size?" the nurse said as she rummaged through baskets and boxes of clothes.

"Oh thanks. My uniform size is medium." the flour pink-haired girl said as she entered the bathroom door and walked to the shower stall while thinking _"Why is this bathroom bigger than my room!"_

When she finished her shower, she peaked open the door and saw a towel on the rack beside the stall.

She wrapped herself in it and turned around to see a new uniform laying on a small table in front of her.

_"Wow, this is excellent service."_ she thought as she put on the uniform. She walked to the mirror and fixed her hair.

She left her glasses in her bag and walked outside. "Um, thank you. I will wash these and carry them back." Sakura said with a small bow. The nurse returned it.

"No problem. I'm the assistant nurse here, Shizune." Shizune said holding out her hand. Sakura took it and the two shook hands, "Nice to meet you."

"Enjoy your lunch!" Shizune said as she walked to her desk. "Lunch? I don't have-" Sakura started but the school bell rang at that moment.

"Well now you do." Shizune said, not looking up from her work. Sakura smiled and agreed, saying good bye as she walked out of the infirmary.

"Now where is the cafeteria..." Sakura said to herself. She turned her head to the right and saw a stampede of children walking towards her.

"Guess it's this way!" she said and turned left, walking down the hall. She walked slowly so that others could pass her and followed them to the cafeteria.

_**[CAFETERIA]**_

_"Hidan's been trying to get me for so long but he's never managed to. I can't believe I forgot he had math at that time...I need to talk to her..."_ Itachi thought as he put food on his plate from the buffet table.

He decided he would find her during lunch and talk to her. He began walking around looking for her when a voice called out to him, "Itachi! Come sit over here! Why are you going over to the freshman section? Wanna be an outcast in your year or something?"

Itachi waved and went to join him. _"I forgot about this school and it's hierarchy..."_ He sat at the table with the others who greeted him before going back to their conversations.

_**[OTHER SIDE OF CAFETERIA]**_

_""_

"Whoa." Sakura whispered as she entered the large room.

_"Large double doors! marble floor and columns with engraved patterns on them! SUPER long tables like the ones in Harry Potter! Five different buffet sections! Chandeliers hanging from the ceiling! A chocolate fountain surrounded by different kinds of pastries and chocolates! Carpeted isles between tables! A normal fountain! Dude this place probably cost SIX times the amount of money my parents have spent their entire lives till now!"_ Sakura thought as she walked in slowly, looking around with her mouth open.

She was suddenly bumped very harshly.

"Out of the way, commoner!"

"Watch where you're going, commoner!"

"Close your mouth you impolite commoner!"

"Trying to catch flies for lunch since you can't afford anything here?"

Four snobby girls surrounded her and insulted her, one of them being Karin. After Karin talked they leaned back and laughed simultaneously, then walked off together to join the line to get their lunch. When the first girl from the group of four said commoner, Itachi instantly turned around.

"Sa-!" Itachi started but quickly stopped himself. His friend looked at him curiously before continuing his conversation.

Everyone was looking at Sakura, waiting for her reaction. Sakura, however, had thought long and hard during her shower in the infirmary, and decided that she would just have to bear with it during her life at the school. Itachi was about to get up, he was arguing with himself whether to go or not, but Sakura made her own decision already. She got up and brushed off her skirt; picked up her bag, and walked to join the line.

"You dare to join the line, commoner? And stand behind us as if nothing is wrong!" One of the group shouted again.

"Nothing IS wrong!" Sakura shouted back. "Even if I don't live in a mansion the size of Jamaica or own my own island, I paid my school tuition fee which means that I have a right to come to this school and learn from its teachers; I have a right to join a sport or club here; and I have a right to join the line in the cafeteria, and buy and eat the food this school has to offer! So please move up there's a gap in the line and I'm feeling hungry!"

There was silence throughout the cafeteria and Sakura could hear her voice saying 'hungry' echo throughout the ballroom-like place. This made her blush slightly from embarrassment and she looked to the food to hide it.

*clap*clap*clap*

Sakura and a bunch of other students in the room turned to see Itachi standing up and clapping. He was smiling at her. She was shocked to see him supporting her, and so was practically every student in the room. Itachi looked at his friends lifted his eyebrows.

They then all started to get up and clap as well. Other students in Itachi's year at the same table got up and started clapping too, some cheered. Sakura, Karin and the other three girls were shocked. Eventually, a good majority of people were clapping and cheering.

Sakura started to smile to herself. She looked at Karin to see what her expression was. Karin's shocked face changed to one of anger and she scoffed and flashed her face before turning and walking up in the line. When she walked the short distance and had nowhere else to go she felt even more irritated. She turned around and told the girl behind her what she wanted and left the line to sit somewhere in the freshman section.

Sakura skipped a little as she went up in the line. She couldn't stop smiling. It was as if the school accepted her, or hated Karin. And right now, she was fine with either one. The cheering and clapping quickly died down after Itachi and his friends sat down, and the cafeteria was buzzing with pieces of everyone's conversations again.

"Hey Itachi, why'd you do that?" one of his friends asked him as the noise quieted down.

"Do what?" Itachi asked as he put a straw in his glass of orange juice.

"You know, support that girl. Isn't she a commoner or something?"

"You obviously didn't hear the speech she said just awhile ago. She has a right to be here, just like everyone else!" Itachi replied, taking a sip of his orange juice.

"...you like her or something?" the guy asked him, looking at him with one eye.

Itachi nearly choked on his drink. He coughed a bit and someone hit his back a few times. "NO!" he managed to say between some coughs. "Of *cough* of COURSE not!" he coughed a few more times and cleared his throat.

"Yeah you're right. You'd never like a girl like _that_."

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked concernedly. He was feeling a bit offended by that statement.

"Well you know..." the friend continued.

"No. I don't. She's a nice person you know. You should meet her before you make assumptions." Itachi said as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"..."

The people around Itachi were quiet. They stared at him until he looked up from his food and asked why they were staring so hard.

"You know Itachi...you're defending this girl an awful lot..."

"It's because I have a kind heart. That's why all the girls love me." he said grinning before he took another bite of his sandwich. At that the guy that asked the question sighed. Itachi's narcissism took over. This conversation would go no further.

Sakura finally got her food and looked around for a seat. She walked near empty seats but the students there gave her looks that told her not to sit there, so she kept walking.

_"Weren't they just cheering me awhile ago? What's with the sudden change?"_

She sat at a small empty table in the corner of the cafeteria and had her lunch peacefully.

_"Doesn't matter. At least they think of me as a person now."_

The bell rang and everyone cleared the cafeteria. Sakura followed crowds out. Itachi tried to catch up to her, but the masses said no and so he was swept away in another direction.

When the students were getting things from their lockers and under no one's influence, they actually responded when Sakura asked for directions to classrooms. She also had a fairly okay time in her last few classes.

Karin glared at her through every class they shared but apart from that, the work was a breeze and she found seats easy by sitting at the front. She glanced at Sasuke from time to time, but the boy never looked her way once.

She felt a bit sad at that but understood that he was just being a nice person at that time, and focused on her work. When the bell rang, she walked out into the hall.

_"Okay! Just one more class, and then I will have officially survived one day of school! Woo!"_ Sakura pepped herself up as she walked down the corridor.

"Now, where was that classroom...?" she pondered as she walked around.

"I think Itachi led me this way..."

_"Itachi...why did you stand up for me?"_ she thought as she walked around.

She finally found the classroom and entered cautiously. She opened the door slowly. The creak attracted people's attention. She then quickly jumped inside and looked up with her hands above her in a martial arts/brace yourself for a kick position.

The kids in the class laughed at her ridiculous pose and paranoia.

"What's up with that chick?' one of the students said in between laughter.

"! Sakura! You came!" Itachi said, his face showing he was very happy to see her. He was looking out the window before.

"? Of course I did. I have class now."

"Hmm? You know the chick?" Hidan asked turning around in his chair to see Itachi further down in the column of seats.

"She's the girl you floured earlier this morning." Itachi said after giving him a look he wasn't getting.

"REEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAALLY...she looks much better with the flour on." Hidan replied after eyeing her carefully. The class laughed.

Sakura blushed but shouted back, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it means!"

"Well You're one to talk! You're hair is white like an old man's and your hairline has receded so much you look like you've been working for 15 years already! I bet you're repeating this year aren't you?"

"OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the class shouted back in Hidan's face. Even Itachi joined in.

"She's sharp!" one kid said.

"How'd you know he's repeating?" another shouted out.

Hidan looked like he was at a loss for words. He was also slightly angry at the fact that he actually couldn't make a comeback.

He sat down and crossed his arms over his chest, "It's...it's not white, it's silver." he said and pouted and looked out of the window.

_"Lol he's like a little kid." _Sakura thought.

"Wait guys! Guys!" Itachi said as he stood up. The class quieted.

"Okay Sakura, you can do a comeback. That's good. You need to be able to defend yourself in this class. RIGHT?" he said looking around the classroom.

"YEAH!" the class shouted back.

"But that's only the first part of the initiation. You must pass all tests to be accepted as part of this class."

"...Okay so what's the second part?" Sakura asked, slightly boosted from the class cheering her.

"Heh." Itachi chuckled. "You must...!" Itachi shouted and paused for suspense. He looked at a student and the guy got up and flipped the black board revealing a white board with a VERY long math problem.

"OHHHHHHH!" the class shouted out.

"Hey Itachi isn't that-"

"SHUT UUUUUP!" Itachi practically sang the up part as he looked at Hidan with a face that said the same thing.

"But that's-"

"SHUT UUUUUP!" the class sang simultaneously.

Hidan stared at them dumbly. He crossed his hands and turned to the window pouting again.

Sakura stared at the problem for a few seconds, the jumped up in front of it, "Oh this is easy!"

"HUH?" the class said in response. "Shh!" Itachi said and the class quickly quieted. Sakura took up a marker and worked out the problem in a few seconds. Her answer filled half the board.

"Done!" she said, spinning around on her heel with the marker. She was shocked when she turned around. Every student behind her was diligently writing off what was on the board.

"Sakura!" Itachi shouted out. Sakura looked up beaming, "So am I in?"

"MOVE You're blocking the board!" Itachi shouted back at her. His response completely threw her off. "W-well!" She said and stepped to the right of the board.

Suddenly there were shouts of 'YES!' 'WE'RE DONE!' and "WE'RE SAVED!" heard throughout the classroom. Sakura was utterly confused.

"Why are you guys so happy?" she asked. "Sakura!" Itachi shouted out and ran down his class aisle towards her. She turned to him and he embraced her.

"!" her face turned extremely red. "I-ITACHI!"

"Thank you Sakura! Thank you so much! I'm truly grateful!" he shouted out.

Her face was still red and she was still confused. "Wh-why are you truly grateful?"

Itachi let go off her and held her by the shoulders. "Sakura, because of you, everyone in Math II has finished at least one assignment for the year and will automatically escape detention! Thanks to you, we've all done our math homework." he hugged her again.

"W-what!" she shouted out and pushed him away. "You mean to tell me that you guys used me t-" she started arguing but stopped because she felt the ground shaking. She turned to see everyone else in the class running towards her.

"W-w-wait where are you-!" the closest people hugged her [Itachi being the closest of course] and everyone else tried to glomp her too.

The scene looked exactly as if someone had just scored a goal in football.

"W-WAI-STOP! GET OFF! AHH!" Sakura shouted out from under the crowd.

_"OMG OMG OMG ITACHI IS SO CLOSE TO ME I CAN FEEL HIS HEARTBEAT BUT WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME WAAAAAH" _Sakura thought as she got slammed against the wall by a crowd of people...and Itachi.

Itachi, the person in front and directly pressing her to the wall, cupped her cheek in his hands, "Sakura, thank you."

Her face immediately blushed, but when everyone in the crowd turned to her and shouted out the exact same thing with sparkles and twinkles in their eyes and around them, she sweat dropped.

Suddenly the door swung opened and a man waltzed in dramatically, "Sorry I'm late guys I got caught up in-why are you all standing at the front of the class I can't enter inside!" the man said as he stared at the broad back of a male student.

"Oh no it's Kakashi-sensei!" a student shouted out.

"What about the board!" another shouted.

"What about the board..." Kakashi muttered, trying to see the board over the tall people in front of him.

"Guys! Stall him! You! clean the board! Quickly!" Itachi shouted out. He turned to Sakura in front of him. She was staring at him as if she too was waiting for instructions.

Instead he just smirked at her, making her blush again. "You already did your job." and pinched her cheek before pushing through the crowd to his seat. Some other students helped to clean the board while others pushed Kakashi outside.

When the board was cleaned the crowd immediately dispersed, everyone quickly sitting down. Kakashi ran back inside panting, "Hey wait a minu-...huh. I know you guys are up to no good again, but you're all innocent until proven guilty I guess..."

Kakashi walked to his desk to see Sakura standing there, her hands in half fists in front of her chest. She looked a little shook up.

"Kakashi-sensei...you teach Math...to this class..." she mumbled.

"Sakura what's wrong? You look like you've just been man-handled!" Kakashi said taking a step back.

Sakura's uniform was in complete disarray. And her pose was very convincing as well. She opened her mouth but no words came out. Eventually, when she tried a little harder, a soft sound came out.

"...I...have been..."

"WHAT!" came from the class, some students stood up from shock. Even Kakashi shouted out what.

"!" Sakura quickly snapped out of her daze.

"Oh nothing! Nothing at all! Forget it." She looked down at her uniform and made a small high pitched sound before quickly fixing it as neatly as she could. "Um, I'll just go take a seat then." she said smiling.

"Sakura your eyebrow is twitching." Kakashi asked, not convinced that nothing was wrong.

"Oh! ha-ha, what'dya know..." she said as she took a few steps but started to fall forwards. The two nearest guys to her quickly stood up and caught her, knocking their chairs back in the process.

"Are you okay Sakura?" One of them asked.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! Don't worry." she said and pushed them away gently. She stumbled once more but eventually made it to the empty seat in front of Itachi. Itachi stood up and helped her sit.

"Sakura...would you like to go to the nurse?" Kakashi asked her.

"Hmm? No no, just go on with your lesson Kakashi-sensei." she replied smiling.

He hesitated, but turned to the board and started to write on the board.

The only thing that was going through Sakura's mind was, _"I've been...man-handled...I can't believe it...man-handled!...Kakashi-sensei was right!...will my mom accept me back home if she finds out?...ahhh~"_

"Sakura!" Itachi whispered and the girl jumped in her seat. The class turned to her with concerned faces.

"...? Hello~" she said and waved. The class sweat dropped and went back to working. Itachi face palmed.

A few minutes before the bell Kakashi collected the work sheets and spoke up,

"Okay Sakura I understand that you're the only girl in this class and-"

"I am?" Sakura said cluelessly. Everyone sweat dropped. "Well, you are Sakura and I understand that all the testosterone might have gotten to the guys so since you are the first girl that's joined this class, things might get a little out of hand. So, I want a guy to offer to be her bodyguard. You'll have the job of protecting her from any outrageous things that might happen in class."

A large majority immediately put up their hand and shouted out, "I WANT TO DO TI!" They then started to argue about who would get the job. Sakura started to blush. All the attention was making her feel really happy.

She turned around to rub it in Itachi's face, "See even you if think your standards are too high for me I don't need you because these guys will protect me!" she said and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Che," he scoffed and she grinned. He leaned forward, "I told you you look better without your glasses. See now if you had entered the class with them on I'd be the only one that would've offered."

"How dare you-wait what?" Itachi then stood up and said, "Kakashi-sensei Sakura has just asked me to be her bodyguard."

Sakura's cheeks turned a bit pink and she spoke up, "N-no I didn't!" she turned to the class, "I never said anything like that!"

"Aww man, If it's Itachi we don't stand a chance." the class grumbled and they all sat down.

Sakura was shocked. "W-What?" She turned around to Itachi, "How is it that you have so much power?" she asked, her face showing she couldn't understand the situation.

Her expression only made him smirk. He crossed his hands and leaned back his chair so that it stood on its two hind legs.

"That's because when I want something I get it, even if it's not right away. And I want you..." he said leaning forward. He paused making her cheeks flare, but he continued, "to be guarded by someone trustworthy because these guys are animals! And who's more trustworthy than me, right?"

She banged her head on the table, then turned around slowly with a sigh.

"Huh? What's wrong Sakura?" Itachi asked but the school bell distracted him. The entire class started to sprint outside but the door suddenly slammed closed.

"Open it!"

"It's locked!"

"Where do you boys think you're going? Do you not remember our _agreement_?" Kakashi said calmly. He was sitting on the edge of his desk reading a book.

"Your homework..." he stood up, "is due! Now!" he closed his book as he said now and turned to the crowd of men at the door.

They all paused, then started to laugh off the fear they felt earlier. Itachi walked out from the crowd to Kakashi with a wad of papers. He slammed the papers on the desk dramatically, then got up slowly and faced Kakashi boldly, "The key please."

Kakashi's eyes...eye widened in shock and he quickly went through the papers. He then slowly turned to the group, "How did you do it." he said in a raspy voice that sent chills down the guys' spines.

"That for us to know. We have a secret weapon now. Now, the key please."

_"Weapon? I'm a weapon!"_ Sakura thought angrily, but she remained quiet in her seat.

Kakashi stared hard at Itachi, but when he knew he couldn't faze the child, he sighed with defeat, and gave Itachi the key.

"Thank you." Itachi said calmly. He then turned around and held the hand with the key up in the air. Everyone shouted out and cheered. Itachi quickly opened the door and the boys ran outside, tearing flowing from some due to joy.

Kakashi and Sakura sweat dropped. Kakashi turned to her and smiled, "Can you get used to it?"

Sakura laughed "I don't think I'll EVER get used to this. But it's fun." she smiled back.

"But I can't believe you made Itachi my bodyguard Kakashi sensei!" Sakura complained as she packed up her things.

"Hmm? Why what's wrong with him as you bodyguard?" Kakashi asked, unable to think why.

"He's abandoned me already!" She pouted and took up her bag, walking down the steps with a troubled expression on her face. Kakashi only sweat dropped, "Sakura, he's waiting outside for you."

"Wa- he is!" Sakura asked, her mood completely swung [lol!].

The Uchiha, as if on queue, re-entered the class, "Come on Sakura I know you're a girl and you have to take your time but school's done don't you want to leave?" he complained, one hand in his pocket, the other on the doorpost blocking the doorway.

The pink-haired girl skipped to the door and rested her chin on his forearm, looking at him with her eyes only, "Ready" she beamed. He smirked and turned so she could hook her arm with the one in his pocket.

"See ya Kakashi-sensei!" Itachi waved without looking back as the two walked out of the class together. Kakashi watched the two leave, "It looks like I'm going to have to change my plan...it's looking a lot like the original..."

**TADAA CHAPTAR FER YOO.**

**continuing from the top of the screen...**

**If anyone DOES read this though, I'm asking kindly that you review because if no one reviews then I'll think no one is reading this story, and if no one wants to read this story, then I might as well not continue it and take it down...do you think I should continue writing this? I have a bunch of ItaSaku moments that I would love to put in...**


	5. Chapter 5 It's a Crush!

**I just realized why Itachi's a bigger idiot than I planned in my head originally [I re-read the chapters]; It's because I made him exactly like Minami from the Hana Kimi drama...I JUST LOVED HIS CHARACTER SO MUCH XDDDDDD...I'm sorry from now on I will try to fix him u.u... XD**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 5

Narrator: _...Cherry blossoms...look very pretty in the air...they even look like they're smiling sometimes..._

As the two walked down the corridor Sakura quickly took her hand from Itachi. The Uchiha looked at her confusedly.

"You don't want anyone thinking that we're a couple do you?" Sakura asked while avoiding his eyes.

Itachi's eyes widened. Then he started to laugh. "No way that'd never happen! How could WE be a couple!" he said while holding his stomach laughing.

"Why n-!" Sakura shouted back but quickly stopped herself. Itachi looked up at her, "Why what?" he asked innocently.

"Uh, why not uh, help me get back at Hidan for that flour prank?" Sakura asked, slightly sweating.

"Sure! I'll be glad to help! I've been pranking that kid since orientation of freshman year!" Itachi replied.

"So...a truce then?" Sakura asked, holding out her hand.

"A truce? Why do we need one?" Itachi asked her, oblivious to his own nature.

"A truce between US so that you won't use me for your own entertainment until then!" Sakura shouted out, angry that the boy could forget the horrible first day he gave her.

"Oh you're still angry at that? I thought you said you had a sense of humour!" Itachi said, scratching the back of head. Sakura glared at him.

"Fine, fine, sure, truce." he said and shook her head. "Good. Bye then see you tomorrow." Sakura replied and took her hand back quickly and walked down the corridor with her hands in fists and a glare on her face.

_"How dare he! Why couldn't we be a couple! There's nothing wrong with me! He's the one who's below my standards! He's the one with NO 'TASTE' " _Sakura thought as she stormed down the corridor.

She walked with all her things in her bag because she didn't have a locker, but at that moment, she decided to get one tomorrow because she didn't feel like staying at school anymore.

As she left the school and started walking down the long pathway, a voice called out to her,

"Hey Sakura!"

She turned around to see a blonde and her two followers running towards her. Sakura scoffed and turned around to leave. She didn't feel like wasting time talking to her.

"Sakura!" Ino called again when she caught up with her. She stopped the pink-haired girl by pulling her shoulder to face her.

"What?" Sakura said icily and she was turned around. Ino, slightly out of breath, spoke up, "Why are you so angry? Geez, I just wanted to talk."

"Maybe it's because I don't like you." Sakura replied just as icily and turned to leave again. Ino stopped her again, "Wait! Geez you late for a flight or something gimme a minute."

Sakura crossed her hands over her chest and faced the group, "Talk. I'm not doing you any favours though."

"Oh it's nothing like that. I just...well, I guess I just wanna apologize." the blonde said looking away.

"Why?" Sakura asked, startled at the girl's sudden change. "Well, I saw in the hall hooking arms with Itachi and-"

Sakura put her hand in her face and cut her off, "Stop right there. There is NOTHING between me and that idiot. And there never will be..." Sakura said gritting her teeth behind her closed lips.

"Huh? But I thought-" Ino started but Sakura cut her off again, "Well you thought wrong. That idiot doesn't see me as anything and I don't see him as anything. He's just helping me get back at someone."

"Oh. So you're just using him to get close to Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked, crossing her hands over her chest and giving Sakura a bad-eye.

Sakura stared at Ino in shock. Then ran her hands through her hair, letting go of her breath in a frustrated groan.

"HOOOOOOOOW did you get that from what I just said!" Sakura said, still bug-eyed. She was getting even MORE ticked at the people in this school.

"Isn't that your plan? It's obvious. You're more devious than I thought. I'm going to be watching you a lot closer from now on Saki."

"It's Sakura. And WHY the fatdog does EVERYTHING have to be about that kid? The only reason I was with Itachi in the corridor was because I had Math with him. That's all. I don't like Sasuke-kun so just .ALONE."

Sakura then took her bag and waved it frantically to get the three girls to leave. Ino ran away calling Sakura a freak.

Itachi had left the school and was walking down the steps when he saw the scene. He chuckled to himself and walked down the stairs. "Need a ride?" he said softly as he passed her.

His low tone made her jump. _"He was there this whole time?"_

"N-No! I'd never take a ride from you!" She shouted out flustered. The Uchiha stopped and turned around shouting back, "Who'd ever give YOU a ride?"

She stood dumbfounded. _"Didn't he just...!"_ But from his face she could tell that others were looking at them. And she realized that he was just acting for the audience. She composed herself and walked past him.

"Hell no." she said under her breath as she past him making him smirk. He turned around and walked slowly behind her. The students around went back to their conversations. Ino glared at Sakura from her group.

_"There IS something going on Sakura. And I'm going to find out what your plan is because Sasuke-kun is MINE."_ the blonde thought as she watched the pink-haired girl leave.

As Sakura left the school compound she quickly went behind the wall beside the entrance and collapsed against the wall. She let out a loud sigh.

"Stupid long walkway. I feel like I'm on show all the time!" She said and punched the wall, slightly denting it. The dent made her feel better.

A laugh made her turn around and she glared at the boy beside her. "Leave me alone." she said and turned around but he caught up to her.

"Where's your car? I'll escort you." Itachi said, putting his fist on his waist so she could hook her arm again.

"What makes you think a commoner like me would have a driver to take me to school?" Sakura replied sourly. She did NOT want to talk to him right now.

"Well I knew you wouldn't have a limo but at least a car...so how are you getting home?" the boy asked, unable to think of any other mode of transport possible.

"You see these?" Sakura said as she slapped her leg, "I'm gonna use them." she said with a quick fake smile and turned around to leave.

"Are you serious? You're...you're gonna walk!" the boy asked shocked.

"I walked here. I can walk back." Sakura said, waving her hand in the air as she walked down the sidewalk.

"No way! You gotta let me give you a ride then!" Itachi said as he ran after her. She glanced back and saw him running after her.

"Wha- No! Just go home and leave me alone!" Sakura shouted and sprinted down the sidewalk.

"She fast...!" Itachi said thoughtfully. He smirked as he too speeded up. He put his hand in the air and made a hand signal. One of the parked limos drove out and started to follow behind him as he ran. The two ran down many streets, pass many blocks, past many buildings and markets. Sakura also took a detour through the nearby park but Itachi still followed her. Some people stared at the two blurs that passed them.

"Sakura!" he called out.

"Go away!"

"Just let me drop you home!"

"Why do you care so much about dropping me home!"

"Because I can't just let you walk home!"

"Why not!"

"It's late! Something could happen to you!"

"..."

"Sakura!"

"..."

"Is that a yes!"

"Shut up! It's hard to run and talk!"

"...HAHAHAHAAA!" Itachi laughed as he ran. _"She's being so stubborn! Why am I not angry right now? But she's right, I'm getting stitches. Time to end this then!"_ Itachi ran even faster and finally caught up to her.

He glomped her and the two fell to the ground.

"Gotcha!" Itachi shouted as they fell. He turned her so that he hit the ground first. Sakura let out a little squeak as she fell.

"Finally!" Itachi sighed. "You-run fast-you should-join track." he said between pants.

Sakura eased up, "Why are you so-stubborn?" she said angrily.

Her cheeks were red but her sentence made him oblivious to her blush, "Me? Stubborn? I could-say the same for you!"

The two stared at each other in silence. "Are cheeks red because you ran fast again?" Itachi teased, noticing her face. Her cheeks got redder, "N-Yes! Duh!" she shouted back and pushed away from him, getting up quickly and brushing off her skirt.

Itachi sat up but remained on the floor, "You really do look better without your glasses you know..." Itachi said as he looked up at her. Her head was blocking a street light and the light enveloped her body. She looked at him with slightly pink cheeks.

"Hey stop flashing me!" he said, pretending to be embarrassed and changing the topic completely. But Sakura was even more embarrassed. "What! I would never do that to someone like YOU! Stop looking! Geez! Plus I wear tights under my skirts unlike those whores."

Sakura said and started to walk down the sidewalk. "Aww you're no fun." Itachi whined. He grabbed onto Sakura's arm as she walked past him. "What?" You've diverted me long enough I need to get home now."

"Then let me drop you."

"Why?"

"I already told you. Something might happen to you if you walk the streets alone this late."

"If that's the only reason then I'm not going with you." Sakura said as she turned around.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Itachi was confused. He touched her arm to turn her around but she pulled her arm away.

"Sakura?" Itachi asked, a bit concerned.

"Don't worry Itachi. My house is just around the corner. You chasing me made me get home a lot quicker. I'll see you tomorrow at school okay?" Sakura said happily and walked off without showing her face.

Itachi reached out for her but she had walked off quickly. He stood and watched her until she turned the corner and was out of sight. Crickets started to chirp in the silence. The sun had already set and the sidewalk was only illuminated by the street light.

"Itachi-sama." an old man, the limo driver, called out. Itachi looked in the direction of the sound but he didn't see him. The man spoke again.

"Please get in the car young master, it's time to go home."

Itachi walked to the limo and entered it. As the limo slowly drove down the road, Itachi looked out the window to see the side road on the left. He saw Sakura's small silhouette, kneeling down on the sidewalk under a street light. She looked like she was crying.

"Sa-!" Itachi started to shout out as he pressed his hands on the window but stopped. The limo had quickly picked up speed so the image lasted only a few seconds. Itachi paused, still looking out of the window. He then slumped back in his chair.

He had a perplexed expression on his face. He couldn't understand, why was she crying?

[WITH SAKURA]

As Sakura turned the corner she started to run but she slowed down under the light, dropping to her knees. Tears were falling down her cheeks.

_"What's wrong with me? Why am I crying? Was I expecting something? I knew he wouldn't have another reason. He doesn't like me at all! Why am I developing feelings for him! All he does is play pranks on me! Am I so shallow that I fall for some guy on the first day? I don't know anything about him! I'm falling for looks only! This doesn't make any sense! I don't want this! I can't like him! I know he'll never like me...why can't I just stop! It hurts..."_

"Sakura? Sakura! What's wrong!" a voice called out. Sakura looked up to see her mother running towards her. Sakura couldn't speak. She only coughed out sobs. The woman helped up the dumb girl and the two women walked inside the small flat.

"Sakura what's wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen at school? Someone hurt you?" her mother asked question after question but Sakura only cried. Her mother sighed.

"Go up to your room. I'll make you some coco okay?"

Sakura, still crying, went upstairs. A faint sound of a door closing was heard and her mother sighed. "I don't think a burnt hairbrush wouldn't cheer her up this time..."

Sakura collapsed onto her bed and grabbed her pillow. She curled into a ball with it, her face in the pillow, and let the tears fall freely. Her mother knocked on her door and opened it quietly to find the child sleeping. She put the blanket on her and turned off the light.

"I'm heading out now Sakura. Goodnight." She kissed her daughter's forehead and left the room. "Guess I'll just drink this on the way to work then." the mother said as she walked downstairs.

She took a sip before she poured it into her thermos but spit it out.

"Eww this tastes like dirt why does-" she stopped talking when she remembered. She poured the contents into the sink and left for work quietly.

**THIS CHAPTER ENDS HERE GUYS! You know what's kind of funny? This story is starting to mimic a part of my life earlier...well not exactly 'cuz it wasn't the first day of school and I don't attend a rich kid school or whatever but you get the jist of it...I'm gonna stop now please review!**

**[One day I'm gonna make a manga of my life, and at the end I'm gonna make up a guy to give myself a happy ending XD. *sigh* sad isn't it?] LOL PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	6. Chapter 6 Sasuke steps in!

**I actually forgot to add the beginning of this chapter to the last chapter sorry it was so short guys. ^^"**

**I'm gonna try and make the chapters a little longer this time 'kay ;)**

DISCLAIMER: don't own it [Naruto] -_-

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 6

Narrator: _...it looks like a storm is approaching our cherry blossom...and it's coming from an Uchiha fan!_

As the limo pulled into the Uchiha estate, a line of maids and butlers made two vertical borders along the stairs of the mansion. As Itachi exited the vehicle, the staff bowed and greeted him simultaneously.

He bowed and silently entered the house. A few maids approached him, asking if he needed anything but he put up his hand and walked past them.

_"Why was she crying? Is it my fault? I've...never been in such a situation...hmm...!"_

Itachi's train of thought was broken when he entered one of the many lounge areas in the building. In front of him was his younger brother. Sasuke was sitting in a thinking chair and facing the door Itachi entered.

The latter glared at the former, however, Sasuke was smirking in response. "We've exchanged facial expressions for once." The younger replied, still smirking.

"What's wrong? You seem irritated. Why don't you have a seat and we can discuss the matter." he gestured to the many chairs in the room.

"I'll pass." Itachi said emotionlessly after composing himself. "Just tell me what you want with Sakura."

Sasuke sighed into a smile, "What I want? Maybe I have an interest in her..." Sasuke said as he looked towards the fireplace where a fire burned unnecessarily in early September.

"Don't give me that crap Sasuke. Why would you be interested in someone like her?" Itachi said raising his voice a little.

"Maybe...for the same reason you are?" Sasuke replied cleverly, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in the large chair.

Itachi's furrowed his eyebrows. _"My reason...?"_ He closed his eyes and calmed himself. When he opened his eyes, his face was emotionless, "I don't care whatever your reason is just leave her alone."

"Why are you so touchy? Isn't she just a girl to you like every other one in the school? And a commoner at that, what do you care if something happens to her? Is it, perhaps, that-" Itachi had left the room and slammed the door, cutting off Sasuke. This startled the younger brother, whose expression turned into a smirk, and a soft chuckle.

_"He's just trying to mess with my head. I can't listen to him anymore. I don't know what he's planning but, I won't let him hurt her."_ Itachi thought as he walked up a flight of stairs to his room. He remained there for the night, in deep thought.

_**[THE NEXT DAY OF SCHOOL]**_

"WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE SAKURA!" Sakura's mother called out as she ran towards her daughter's room. She called out the child's name again as she kicked down the door.

Sakura sprung up and jumped out of the bed in a fighting stance. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"What are you a ninja? Get ready you're gonna be late for school!" her mother whacked her head with a bed slipper.

"Okay okay!" Sakura shouted as she groggily walked to her dresser mirror. She glanced at the small clock on the dresser and saw 7:45 am. School starts at 8.

"OMG I'M GONNA BE LATE!" Sakura screamed out as she ran to the bathroom.

"That's what I just said you deaf child..." her mother mumbled as she left the room to start preparing breakfast.

Sakura took a quick cold shower and washed her face while she bathed, waking her up even more.

Quickly drying off and throwing on her clothes she pinned her hair up in a ponytail and ran downstairs to see her mother about to burn down the kitchen. She sighed and pulled a fire extinguisher from the storage room, handed it to her mom, grabbed a pop tart, and left for school.

She began to sprint down the sidewalk but stopped and looked at the house of her loud-mouthed neighbour. "Hmm..." Sakura pondered. She looked at the garbage can on the sidewalk and a stray dog that stared at with hungry eyes. "Aww~!" She turned to the can and falcon kicked it a lot harder than she needed to.

The can flew and landed right in front of the door. The dog barked happily and went rummaging through the debris. Sakura smiled to herself. The door soon opened and a woman with a green face and curlers in her hair came out, "What's all that noise...WHAT IS THIS!"

"Oh shi-" Sakura hightailed it down the sidewalk before the woman could see her. As she ran she felt a little better and let out a laugh as she flew quickly to school. She looked up and saw the bus-driver wave at her through his rare mirror with a smug smirk on his face.

Suddenly the light turned red and the bus screeched to a sudden stop. Muffled complaints could be heard from the passengers. As Sakura passed she raised her middle finger to him as she passed, sticking out her tongue as she ran across the road.

She laughed to herself when she saw him bang his hands on the steering wheel in frustration and frighten himself when the horn went off.

Not stopping to look at the sign of the school Sakura turned onto the compound and continuously sprinted towards the building.

"Stupid...long...PATHWAY!" Sakura screamed out like a battle cry. After conquering the pathway she still didn't stop because she had to run through the many corridors to the Art Studio, which was on the other side of campus.

She was getting more and more pissed each second she spent running. As she saw the door with the name on it her face brightened. The school bell had already rung and she knew she was late so she had no time to brace herself before she entered the room.

She literally collided with the door as she opened it. "I'm here!" she shouted out as she entered. She put her hands on her knees and panted for a few seconds after her statement.

The class was silent. "Wonderful Miss Haruno! At least one person understands! Art is a blast!" a man with blond hair in a ponytail and a long bang said as he walked around the class. He patted an empty desk softly and Sakura picked up on the hint. She quickly took off her bag and sat in the seat.

"Today's theme is exactly what I said, and what Miss Haruno hear demonstrated, 'Art is a Blast!' Make it visual. I will be your art teacher for the term, Deidara."

The class stared blankly at the guy in front of them. Sakura as well. They kept looking at him and then at Ino. The council rep was getting ticked very quickly. In a few minutes she banged her hands on her desk as she stood up and shouted out, "We're NOT related!"

Everyone in the class stopped looking immediately and went to choose a drawing board to press on. A large piece of paper, scrapbook sized, was already on each desk. Sakura opened her bag.

_"Ah, I forgot my art while I rushing. Oh well, guess I'll just make a sketch today."_ She took out her pencil and began to roughly draw the outlines of objects and one person.

The class was an hour long and as the bell was about to ring, most students weren't even halfway yet. Sakura decided to draw a sketch of her mom in the kitchen just as it was about to explode. She decided to use her head and imagine what the kitchen looked like right after she left.

She started with the fire in the centre of the page and continued outwards, drawing the smoke and pieces of the stove that could be seen between clouds of the smoke. She drew the small centre table with two stools in the middle of the room as the closest or most forward thing to the viewer. She drew the counters and added the fridge. Lastly, she filled in her mother, lunging for the fire with a fire extinguisher in her hand, as if hitting the stove would be better than using the compressed Carbon Dioxide inside.

When the bell rang she stopped and took a look at the entire thing. She hadn't done everything properly. There were little arrows here and there saying 'shade here' and 'make countertops blue' etc.

Deidara clapped his hands twice to get everyone's attention, "I know you can't put a deadline on art..." the class sighed in relief, "...but this school doesn't really care so this assignment is due next class! Do it in your spare time!" the class groaned and packed up their things slowly.

Sakura rolled up her work and stuffed it in her bag. As she walked down the hall, Karin's loud mouth attracted everyone's attention briefly, "What did you do for your assignment Sasuke-kun? I'm drawing a-"

"I think I left my pencil in the classroom..." Sasuke said softly and Karin quickly shouted out that she would get it, as did MANY other girls. A large crowd was then seen trying to fit through the small door, all for a pencil.

"Wow...the lengths to which some will go..." Sakura said as she watched in awe, the determination on each girls' face as they pushed and shoved.

"What are you doing for the assignment Sakura?" a voice said behind her. She felt breath on her ear and quickly turned around and stepped back.

_"Oh it's just Sasuke-kun..."_ Sakura sighed. "Oh I'm doing a fire in my kitchen!" She said happily but then sweat dropped when she realized the tone was a bit off for an accident at home.

"Really? That's...different. I'm sure you'll get points for creativity." Sasuke replied with a small smile. Sakura's cheeks immediately changed to pink in response. "W-w-what are you doing Sasuke-kun?"

"Oh well, I'm not really good art-" he started but Sakura had already pulled out his sheet from his bag. "Oh let me just see it." she said as she unscrolled the paper. She literally gaped when she saw the paper.

"That bad huh?" Sasuke said, scratching the back of his head. "NO WAY! THIS IS AWESOME!" Sakura said, her mouth still open. She eventually snapped out of her trance and faced this boy.

"It's way better than mine! You're really good at painting! How did you manage to paint a war scene this complicated in just one hour?" Sakura interrogated, still shocked at the boy's talent.

"It's one of the requirements of being in the Uchiha family." he replied with another smile that made her heart flutter.

_"Oh my God I'm really falling for this guy aren't I?...I'm so shallow how can I fall for any hot guy that talks to me! Geez Sakura! Get a hold of yourself!" _Sakura thought and slapped her forehead.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked her, looking with concerned eyes. "Oh I'm fine it's nothing don't worry." she said waving him off wit her hand.

He took her hovering hand in his to get her attention, "Can we talk later? There's something I want to ask you."

Sakura only stared at him in shock. "Are you busy?" he asked again and she shook her head vigorously as her answer. "Great. I'll see you later then, Sakura." he said with a smile and walked across the lawn while running a hand through his hair.

_"Acting like I care is so hard with that girl..." _Sasuke sighed. _"But she's opening up so easily . Just a little more, and she'll be mine Itachi."_ he smirked as he put his hands in his pockets and strolled across the lawn.

"SASUKE-KUUUUUUUN~!" Karin shouted out as she left the class. "Sasuke-kun I think I found your pencil where are you?"

"Hey that's mine! You just took it from my hand give it back!" Naruto said loudly.

"Shut up! Now it's Sasuke-kun's." she replied snobbily and ran after the nay-blue haired boy. Naruto chased after her. Sakura sighed, _"I need to stop falling for unreachable guys. It's pathetic..."_

She re-adjusted the bag on her shoulders, and journeyed across the lawn she had previously galloped over to get to art. Next was homeroom.

_**[HOMEROOM CLASS]**_

"Okay guys quiet down! If we start this class early we can leave early!" Karin shouted out and the class quieted down a little. "Ino!" Karin shouted out and Ino stood up and walked down to the teacher's desk, standing beside Karin.

"I, the assistant beadle, will now take the register!" Ino said, holding a long book with grids on it, and a pen in another hand.

"Uzumaki!"

"Here!"

"Hyuuga!"

"Here."

"Uchiha~."

"Hn."

"What was that?" Karin reprimanded the blonde beside her.

"I don't know what you're talking about, what was what?"

"You said MY Sasuke-kun's name different from the way you said the other names!"

"No I didn't calm down Karin, you're hallucinating."

"Anyways, Sasuke-kun~, are you here?"

"..." Sasuke only stared at her.

"You did it again!"

"Did what dear beadle?" Ino asked sweetly. Karin grunted.

"Everyone's here so you can just mark the register quietly over there go."

"You don't know if everyone's here or not. I have to do my job thoroughly."

As the two argued, Sakura remembered that she still had Sasuke's assignment and decided to use this opportune moment to give him back, when the two dangers were distracted.

Since she sat beside him all she had to do was turn to him. She took out the paper scroll and stretched it out.

"I forgot to give you back your assignment sorry." Sakura said with a smile.

Sasuke stared at her, took the paper, and went back to what he was doing.

_"Ouch. What's with the sudden mood swing? You were all smiles before..."_

"Um, your welcome?" Sakura pushed her manners on him but all she got in reply was "Hn."

She stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds, which was mistake. Karin had glanced at Sasuke while arguing with Ino and caught Sakura talking to him [or asking him to at least thank her for returning his homework] and almost exploded.

"You there just WHAT do you think you're doing talking to MY Sasuke-kun?" Karin said, making everyone aware of the 3 second conversation Sakura had the guy.

"Nothing I was just-" Sakura started but Karin cut her off.

"I thought I told you to leave anything you wanted to tell him in a letter in his box at the nurse's office? It seems you don't understand. When this session is over, why don't you clean up the class? After all, it is your job as garbage collector. Don't worry guys, you can litter the floor as much as you want today and rest assured that it will be cleaned up."

Sasuke's fan club began to throw paper on the floor and look at Sakura with attitude and a smile. One of the girls dropped a can of juice on the floor, "Oops! It just slipped! Sorry Sakura~." the girl teased. The girls around her giggled.

Sakura clenched her fists and closed her eyes tightly to stop her tongue from lashing out a response. She took a deep breath and then replied calmly, "Sure. I was already planning on doing that." Sakura smiled plastically at the red-head who just flashed her hair and walked to the board.

She wrote names on the board as she spoke, "Hinata will be in charge of matters such as organizing activities for upcoming events. Tenten will be the treasurer of the class. Naruto will help Hinata. That's it for positions anyone cares about. Class is over! Everyone EXCEPT Sakura~, can leave." Karin ended sweetly, looking at the pink-haired girl with an evil smile.

Sakura just ignored her and packed her things slowly, waiting for everyone to leave. "Uh Sakura-chan..." Sakura looked up to see Naruto. "What's up?" she said as she went to get the broom behind the door.

"Um, I was just wondering if you would like some help to clean up. The class really made a mess today so..."

"Sure! Thanks, I appreciate it." Sakura answered smiling. Naruto jumped up and down. "REALLY? GREAT! I'll uh, clean the board for you!"

Sakura laughed, "Sure, whatever." _"He's so hyper."_ Sakura thought to herself as she laughed when Naruto tripped over nothing on his way to the board. He scratched the back of his head and laughed with her before getting up.

As she swept the floor she shuddered when she felt someone's eyes on her. She turned to Naruto but he was happily moving the duster around. She browsed the class with her eyes and jumped, bumping into a desk when she saw one eye through a small crack in the wall.

"Sakura are you okay?" Naruto asked, looking at her wondering what just happened.

"H-huh? Oh yeah, I'm...okay...I think." she whispered that last part to herself. She quickly looked back to the crack but the eye had left.

_"That was so freaky that person really scared me. who was it? The eye was white and had no pupil..." _a light bulb lit up above Sakura's head, _"Hinata!"_ Sakura sweat dropped, _"Does she still think I like Naruto? She going to such measures..."_ Sakura stopped when she reached the puddle of juice on the floor. She sighed.

"I'm gonna get a mop Naruto be right back okay?"

"Huh? Oh okay Sakura-chan!" he grinned stupidly, making her giggle again as she left the room. She found the janitor's closet easily due to previous experience and took out the mop. Suddenly the door locked itself in front of her and she saw an arm to her right out of the corner of her eye.

"Still busy?" the voice said at her ear, making her jump. She turned around and pressed her back against the door to see none other than Sasuke, very close to her. She looked left and right frantically, only to find that the hall was conveniently empty.

"N-n-not really." she stuttered, her heart pounding.

"I just wanted to know...do you have feelings for my brother?" he asked seriously, staring at her almost as if he was angry at her.

The question startled her and she hesitated as a result. Remembering all the events of yesterday, she couldn't respond right away, but broke eye contact to look at the floor.

Sasuke frowned at this, although she didn't see it.

"or...do you have feelings for me?"

She jerked her head up suddenly at the question, making him smirk. He leaned in closer so that he could whisper to her, taking a lock of her hair in his other hand and playing with it.

"You should really consider the second option...I'm sure I'd be more accepting."

Sakura took a sharp breath. Her eyes were wide from shock. Sasuke leaned back up, put the lock of her hair in his hand to his lips, all the while still watching her, and then walked off with a satisfied smirk on his face.

_"That should do it..."_

Sakura couldn't move. She was frozen: standing in front of the small storage room with a mop as if she was guarding the door.

_"Was that...a...confession!"_ Sakura was completely confused. She walked veeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrry slowly back to the class only to be shocked even more by Naruto who attacked her in a super glomp.

"Sakura-chan I was so worried you took so long to come back! Are you okay?" he shouted, almost deafening the girl but breaking her trance.

She released herself from his embrace gently, nodding her head nimbly in response. "Sakura-chan you don't look so well. Don't worry I'll clean up the mess you go to the nurse or something." Naruto said taking the mop, handing her her bag and nudging her out of the classroom.

She jumped when the school bell rang, and looked around her as students started to fill the corridors. She heard Naruto scream out that he had Math and saw him sprint down the hall, dodging past other children.

_"I guess I have my free session now...that's good. I need to think over stuff..."_

As the hallways cleared, she decided to find a locker for herself. She walked around the hallways, making note of the classrooms of her subjects as she went along. Eventually she found an empty locker and put her lock on it.

"There! Now I can dump all my stuff in tomorrow. One step accomplished."

Sakura continued to walk around, this time outside of the main building. She discovered the field and track area, the gym, the pools, the biology and physics labs, and the tennis and basketball courts.

"I think I should find a quiet place to think. I can do my art assignment in the mean time as well!" She thought out loud as she walked. She thought about the lawn in front of the art studio, but the sun was way too hot to sit there for an hour.

Entering the large gym that was separated into many sections to hold the various extra-curricular activities of the school, Sakura found that the pool was not being used, and the cool environment was very relaxing. Especially with the wave pattern of light on the ceiling.

She walked towards the column on which three diving boards, each at different heights, protruded from towards the pool. Sakura walked around it and sat with her back against it, so that anyone who entered wouldn't see her at first glance and hopefully leave her alone.

She set her phone to alarm in an hour so that she wouldn't lose track of time, and set to work, both mentally and physically. She decided to use her pencil to make a scene using gray scale since she didn't have her pencil crayons and didn't feel like starting over with colour or doing it at home.

_"Sasuke is usually cold and ignores everyone except for Naruto because he annoys him. He even ignores Karin. How is it that they are together? The only privilege she has is that he allows her to walk beside him all the time!"_

_"And Ino claims that she is 'second in line' but he doesn't even notice her presence! So why is it that he suddenly made an effort to talk to me and even...!"_

_"No Sakura, calm down. Before he said all that stuff that made my stomach flip, I can't believe I actually just thought that. Wow. ANYWAYS! Before that, he asked if I liked Itachi..."_

_"Do I? I don't really know. Why would I like someone like him? He's definitely hot, Sasuke and him got the same genes I guess lol. But apart from that, every time I hang out with him only trouble comes! Still, he DID support me in the cafeteria when everyone else was killing me with their stare. They were looking down on me but he didn't...come to think of it, he's the only guy, no only person, who didn't treat me badly yesterday! Yeah he pulled pranks but, it was only for fun and he apologized. And Math II class was kinda fun...those guys are so crazy. *giggle*"_

_"...wait, is that why Sasuke is taking an interest in me? Because I was hanging out with Itachi instead of fawning over him? But he confessed...so doesn't that mean there's more to it?"_

"AH! I'M SO CONFUSED!" Sakura shouted out and messed up her hair in frustration. She sighed heavily.

"Confused? About what?" a voice asked and Sakura dropped her pencil.

_"Someone was here? All this time? Thank God I didn't think out loud this time!"_ She thought with a hand to her chest.

She heard footsteps coming towards her and tensed. A boy walked around the column and saw Sakura sitting on the floor with her art piece.

"Oh it's you Sakura! Whatcha doing?" the boy asked as he crouched down to get a closer look.

"Itachi? W-what are you doing here don't you have a class now?" Sakura asked frantically. She did NOT need to talk to him right now.

"Well, yeah but I knew that YOU didn't so I was looking for you cause I figured you'd be lonely all by yourself. But I gave up because I couldn't find you. This is my secret spot you know. I like to come here when I want some peace and quiet because this pool is only used for P.E and we only do swimming in the last term." he admitted grinning.

"...Whether I'm lonely or not doesn't give you the right to skull your class." Sakura told him, her good student nature setting in, ignoring his revealing of his secret.

"But what if you were bored or something?"

"Then I'd be bored." Sakura stated matter-of-factly.

"Can't you accept my sincerity?" Itachi asked, a bit worn with her cold attitude.

"Why are you showing someone you just met sincerity?" Sakura asked, unfazed.

"Because you're my friend of course!" the boy said making a 'obviously' face.

"...really?" Sakura asked, feeling a bit happier.

"Yeah. I thought you'd picked up on that yesterday. I mean, I practically spent the entire day with you you know. I don't do that for just anybody...unless they're like some super hot girl."

"Which is DEFINITELY not the case with me..." Sakura said avoiding eye contact.

"Hmm? Well you're cute in your own way Sakura." Itachi said grinning.

Sakura stared at him in disbelief. Then shook her head, "Don't fall for it. Don't fall for it."

"Don't fall for what?" Itachi asked obliviously. Sakura only sighed.

"So what class are you skipping that you think it less important that my happiness?" Sakura asked, back into her sceptical tone.

"Chemistry." Itachi replied, still smiling. Sakura gave him a WTF look. "What?" he asked.

"How can you skip Chem! It's very important and if you miss just one day during some topics you can get lost for the rest of the term!" Sakura shouted, shaking him by the shoulders.

"Calm down Sakura." He said dizzily, and she stopped shortly after.

"I don't need to go to Chem classes because I'm a Chemistry genius!" he said pointing to himself proudly.

Sakura gave him a look.

"What it's true!" he protested.

"I don't believe you. A slacker like you who can't even do the simplest of math equations, CANNOT excel in the area of Chemistry."

"Hey that question was hard and you know it. Plus, Chemistry is different from Math. It's way easier and funner and -"

"I see someone isn't so strong in English either."

"AND~" Itachi said louder to stop her from interrupting him, "it doesn't matter whether or not I go because I've already passed Chemistry at a tertiary level." he said picking up one of her pencils and observing the type.

"Wha-really? You've already...passed University level Chemistry!" Sakura was taken back.

"You? Uchiha Itachi? The guy who plays pranks on others, skulls classes, picks on little girls, flirts with almost everyone and fails at math!"

"Hey, hey, hey. You make me sound so bad...but in my family, the parents ensure that their children excel in all areas they show potential in." Itachi whined.

"I can't believe it...so that goes for Sasuke as well?" Sakura said more to herself than to him.

"Yup."

"Is his area art then?" Sakura asked, remembering his assignment.

"Art? Hell no that kid can't paint to save his life."

"But I saw his work today in class and it looked really, really good!"

"Probably paid some one to do it for him beforehand. His area IS business after all."

"Business? Really?"

"Yup. He's always scheming something..." Itachi trailed off, then looked at Sakura with a serious face.

"W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?" Sakura asked him, feeling uneasy under such a hard gaze.

"Sakura...did Sasuke...talk to you today?" Itachi asked slowly.

"Hmm? Oh yeah he did..." Sakura trailed off, her cheeks turned pink when she remembered past events. Itachi noticed and his stare turned into a glare.

"Sakura..." he trailed off. She looked at him and jumped seeing his face so angry. She slapped her cheeks a couple of times, _"Snap out of it Snap out of it SNAP OUT OF IT!"_

"Um, I should probably go-" Sakura started to say and moved her hand for her bag but Itachi grabbed it while it was still in mid air, drawing her attention back to him,

"Sakura!"

"W-what?

"I told you already. Sasuke is always scheming something. And it's usually not good. He's taken an interest in you and I don't know why but, be careful."

Sakura snatched her hand back from him, "What do you mean you don't know why? Why not? Why does something have to be wrong for him to take an interest in me? Is it just because I'm not some 'super hot' girl? I can take care of myself just fine thank you and I don't need you to comfort me with your sympathy!"

"Wha? Sa-Sakura! Sakura wait!" Sakura quickly gathered her things and ran out of the pool room. Itachi scrambled to his feet and started to chase after her but when he exited the pool room she was nowhere to be seen.

Empty lawns and bare outside corridors were all he saw. Sakura had turned and ran alongside the building as soon as she exited it so that he wouldn't find her.

Itachi kicked at one of the pool gym doors in frustration. "How is it that she got offended from that! I just want to protect her from Sasuke why is she angry again!"

The bell for the next period rang and on hearing it, he thrust his hands into his pockets and walked across the lawn, kicking at any unfortunate rocks that happened to be in his path.

**AND THE PLOT THICKENS! XD**

**Again plish review! w**


	7. Chapter 7 Gym Class

**Umm...I blame the fact**** that**** OneManga is closing down for this late chapter U.U**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 7

_**Narrator:**_ _...two forces act on the cherry blossom as it falls: there is the insensitive force of gravity; pushing down so it can always be superior...and then there is air resistance; it is soft but, it will always try its best to cushion the blow from its opposing force..._

According to her schedule, Sakura had Physical Education/P.E/Gym Class/Hey let's all run around the field like crazy people next. Luckily, because it wasn't the last term, she didn't have swimming and therefore was able to avoid any awkward meeting with Itachi again.

Her brain was wracking with thoughts as she walked,

_"Be careful? Of Sasuke-kun? Why? He's been so nice to me! He's practically the ONLY nice guy I know here! But Itachi said I was a friend...does that mean he really is trying to look out for me?...Or is he just jealous that someone else actually appreciates my existence here? No way! Why would he be jealous? He keeps telling me he'd NEVER like me...Man! If I'm his 'friend' then he should treat me like one!"_

Ending on such a strong note, Sakura slammed open the doors to the girls' changing room, making a few girls jump and grab their clothes to cover themselves. When they saw it was just Sakura, they sighed with relief and went back to changing.

Sakura quickly found a small empty locker and put her stuff inside. She changed into her P.E. outfit and joined the female crowd walking onto the field.

The boys quickly joined the girls and the large bundle made it to the middle of the field and stopped. In front of them stood a man, in green spandex.

"GOOD MORNING CLASS! WELCOME TO ANOTHER TERM OF YOUTHFUL SCHOOL! AND YOUTHFUL GYM!" the greenly-dressed man shouted loudly.

"PLEASE SPILT INTO TWO GROUPS. GUYS IN ONE, GIRLS IN THE OTHER!" the man continued. The students co-operated but Sakura just stood there. She couldn't get over the man's appearance.

_"Why...is this guy...wearing...spandex...GREEN spandex...of all things...summer just finished but it's STILL hot as hell...and this guy chooses to-"_ Sakura stopped her train of thought when she was violently nudged by another girl.

"What are you spacing out for, commoner? Hurry up and follow the instructions you were given!" the girl said and flipped her hair as she walked to join the group of girls.

Sakura clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Then took a deep breath to calm herself, and joined the group.

"OKAY! NOW THAT WE'RE ALL IN TWO YOUTHFUL GROUPS! GIRLS! YOU WILL PLAY BASKETBALL! SO CHOOSE YOUR TEAMS! GUYS! FOLLOW ME TO THE TRACK AREA! WE'LL BE DOING SPRINTS!" the man shouted out as he, himself, began to sprint towards the track area.

The boys started to follow as fast as they could while the girls faced each other and started to talk amongst themselves. Sakura slowly walked to the group, she liked hanging out with the class when the guys were around because they were less antsy around her.

"Sakura!" a boy called out and Sakura turned round to see Sasuke jogging towards her. Her cheeks immediately flared and her conversation with Itachi also came up in her mind. This made her smile drop temporarily. She quickly shook her head to get rid of unwanted thoughts.

"What's up, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, freaking out happily on the inside that she was able to talk normally to this guy even though her heart was beating like crazy.

"I know this probably isn't the best time, but, I wanted to give you this." Sasuke said and took out a small, simple bracelet out of his pocket. It was a silver bracelet and had a heart pendant attached to it.

"You can think of it as a good luck charm for Gym. Those girls can be really rough when it comes to physical activities like basketball." Sasuke warned as he put the bracelet on her hand.

Barely listening to his words and just happy he was giving her something and actually putting it on her hand, she nodded silently. Noticing her totally in love reaction he smirked.

"Good luck." he whispered in her ear, making her jump slightly. He leaned up and looked at the group behind her to see Ino's shocked face. This made his smirk even wider. He quickly turned and jogged to the group of boys at the end of the field.

_"Perfect. And Ino of all people. She'll report it to Karin, and I won't have to be the bad guy yet."_

Sakura, slowly walked to the basket ball court. As soon as she entered, a basketball flew towards her head. If she hadn't looked up right before, she would've gotten a concussion at the speed the ball was going at.

She quickly protected herself by making an 'X' with her hands to block the ball. When the ball fell and she removed her hands slowly, she noticed all the girls had formed a semi-circle around the entrance to the basketball court, and so Sakura was surrounded by them.

"W-what's going on..." Sakura asked quietly.

"Don't play innocent with us, you COMMONER!" one of the girls shouted out and spat. The saliva landing on Sakura's shoe. Sakura looked down in disgust at the spit on her shoe, then back up to the group with a WTH face.

Another girl started bouncing a ball, "I saw you talking to Sasuke-kun, commoner!" and threw the ball with all her might at Sakura when she said commoner.

Sakura quickly jumped out of the way, narrowly missing the ball. Ino started bouncing her ball this time.

"And I saw Sasuke-kun give you a bracelet. THAT bracelet!" She shouted out as she slammed her ball to the ground with both hands. The ball flew high in the air and behind the group towards the middle of the court.

The girls made a small clearing and Karin stepped in to fill the gap. She had another ball in her hand. "Why must I keep repeating myself? I thought, no I KNOW I told you to stay AWAY from MY SASUKE-KUN! So WHERE did you get the idea that I was joking? I'm . STAY. AWAY. FROM. HIM."

Karin paused, "Didn't you say you didn't like him?"

Sakura froze. It was true. She did say that. And she kept telling herself that. But ever since art, he's been coming up a lot in her mind. And she realized that she was starting to fall for him. However, she also realized that right now, falling for him was not an option.

"Do you like him, Sakura?" Karin asked, tossing her ball in the air with one hand.

Sakura hesitated. She relayed all the events that happened previously and came to the conclusion that right now, Sasuke was definitely an option for future boyfriend for her, no matter how impossible it seemed.

Of course she couldn't tell them that. "WELL?" Karin shouted, her anger rising by the second as she stared at the trinket on Sakura's hand. Sasuke had never given her anything, ever.

"N-no!" Sakura stuttered out, feeling like she betrayed her heart. Karin began to smile,

"Really? Still no? Well then, that's a relief! Right girls!" Karin asked out loudly. The surrounding girls were taken back but nodded their heads and mumbled yeses.

The sweet smile on her face then turned into a wicked one, "Well then I guess that ALSO means that the bracelet MY Sasuke-kun put on your hand means absolutely nothing to you doesn't it?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked to the piece of jewellery on her arm. Ino smiled wickedly as well.

"And I guess that ALSO means you wouldn't mind giving it to me then, would you, Sakura?" Karin continued, "After all, he is with ME, not YOU. And you DON'T like him. So it must have been a bother to receive it from him. Did you accept it out of pity? Was that it?"

Sakura looked up at Karin with a scared face. She wanted to respond but, she didn't know what to say. She didn't want to lie about love. She felt like someone stabbed her heart the last time.

Karin walked slowly towards Sakura, who backed up against the gate that was now locked. Trapped in the corner, Karin approached the pink-haired girl.

"Why don't you GIVE me that bracelet, Sakura? I'll keep it safe and treasure it for forever." Karin said sweetly, stepping on Sakura's foot as she said give.

Sakura yelped in pain as Karin stepped on her foot. She looked down and saw that Karin was wearing spikes, not basket ball shoes or normal sneakers. She looked back up at Karin's smirking face but didn't move.

Karin saw that she wasn't moving, and so decided to take the bracelet herself. She grabbed Sakura hand and began to take off the thing. Sakura tried to pull her hand back but Karin only stepped harder on her foot, making her wince in pain. The red-head quickly took the bracelet while Sakura winced and walked away.

"Let's play ball girls!" Karin shouted out as she skipped onto the court. The other girls followed suite, putting down their extra balls to play with Karin's [lol?]

As soon as Karin's spikes left Sakura's foot and air quickly swooped in, the pain intensified and Sakura fell onto the opposite knee of her injured foot. She grabbed the ankle and writhed quietly. With eyes squinting, she looked to her toes to see small trickles of blood coming out of the small holes of her sneakers.

_"That little-!" _she thought and quickly stood up but when she tried to step onto that foot she quickly stumbled to the ground. The girls laughed when they saw her fall.

"Sakura dear, why don't you sit on the bench with the reserves? You can be on my team." Karin called out to the pink-haired girl. Sakura glared at her and she smiled and waved very obviously with the hand she had put the bracelet on.

Sakura knew she couldn't really run up to the girl and punch her in the face like prep school because of her foot. Also, there were too many people on the court on her team so she couldn't walk on the court without interrupting the game.

Guessing that no one knew her foot was bleeding, she limped to the bench at edge of the court, and leaned against one of the fences that enclosed the court. The girls on that bench quickly got up and moved to the other end. Some stood up and started to cheer.

Sakura didn't care though. Her foot was throbbing with pain but she refused to admit defeat and leave the class. Plus, the nurse's office was too far for her to go by herself.

She sighed and looked to the field where the guys were practicing sprints. She looked to Sasuke and apologized for giving away his bracelet in her mind. She looked further, past the boys, to see the building that held the pool, and thought of Itachi.

_"I wonder what you're doing now Itachi..."_ she thought and closed her eyes, feeling the breeze against her face and calming down.

However this peace was brought to a sudden halt and Extreme pain took its place. Karin threw the ball at Sakura's injured foot and the girl screamed and grabbed her foot,

"What the hell is wrong with you why did you do that?" Sakura barked out but quickly closed her mouth when she saw Karin walking towards her.

"We're making a substitution. I'm putting you in. Get up." The girl said in monotone as she picked up the ball and walked back to the court.

Sakura growled softly, and pulled herself up with the fence. She tried out her injured foot. The pain was horrible but, she would not give in to Karin. She leaned onto her other foot when she reached the court.

Unfortunately, Karin gave Sakura the position of centre forward, and so Sakura had to move a lot, which wasn't really working.

"Sakura!"

"Come on commoner!"

"It's not that hard! Look at the ball!"

The girls on the sidelines ridiculed Sakura as she tried her best on the court. She had finally gotten the ball by blocking someone's pass in the air. She landed on her good foot and was about to pivot when a girl with fairly big build rammed her like an angry bull and Sakura literally flew for two seconds.

When she hit the ground she skidded once before crashing onto the asphalted ground.

"Ooooooh." the sideline girls commented, feeling her pain. Sakura had also landed on her side with that bad foot and even though her shoulder hit first, her foot followed last and banged against the ground, sending a shockwave of pain.

She had had it. Sakura sat up and flinged the ball hard on the ground, making it launch into the sky like Ino had previously. Her face, arm and thigh were scratched and bleeding. The girls nearest to her quickly backed away when they saw her injuries.

"You okay, Sakura-_chan~_?" Karin asked sarcastically, but when Sakura turned to her immediately with a glare, the girl quickly gasped and took one step back. Sakura cheek had a fairly large gash and was bleeding profusely.

"What! You're all just gonna stand there and watch me! Does it PLEASE you to do these things?"

The girls were silent. "WELL!" She shouted out as she turned back around to glared at the set of girls in front of her.

"You're all useless! Screw you!" she shouted out and pushed herself up. Standing on her good foot, she limped towards the gate of the court that was now open.

The teacher had left the boys awhile back and as he walked across the field, saw Sakura fall down. He quickly sprinted to the court and by the time he reached Sakura was at the gated exit.

"You there! Are you okay! You're the new student, aren't you? Don't worry I'll get you to the nurse's office right away!" the man shouted out and lifted Sakura up bridal style but the girl screamed out in pain as her injured leg was pressing against him.

He held her more loosely to ease the pressure, "I'm sorry. Don't worry, you'll be there in no time. Continue your practice girls!" the man shouted out and ran as fast as he could across the field to the buildings on the far side of campus.

Soon the two were at the infirmary. As the man ran through the corridors, students loitering in them gasped loudly and shouted out and pointed at Sakura. The girl however didn't care. She didn't know any of them and didn't really care what they thought of her at that moment.

She was feeling light-headed and just wanted to sleep. The man kicked down the office door and quickly but gently placed Sakura onto one of the white beds, which her foot immediately began to paint red.

"You wait here. I'll be back shortly with the nurse." the man said and dashed out of the room. Silence drenched the place. Sakura just closed her eyes and sighed.

_"The nurse will come and fix me up so I don't have to worry about that. I'll probably also get to skip a few classes so I won't get to see those demons for awhile. Plus, I also won't have to face Sasuke and explain why Karin has the bracelet instead of me. I'm sure she'll take the liberty of making up her own excuse so I'll just go along with whatever it is. I'm sure he'll understand. Honestly? I can't bother with him. I don't think I have the guts to go through Hell just for one guy...maybe if I was also guaranteed a happy ending in which I would be able to date him easily, get married, get an awesome car, live in a huge house, have kids that are NOTHING like the children HERE, and live a peaceful life with a good job that gives reasonable pay...something like that maybe...sigh..."_

Sakura was about to doze off when the door was kicked down again, startling the girl. She turned her head, squinting at the cheek tissue being pulled in the process. A guy entered the room, and quickly ran to her side.

"Sakura! What happened? I heard from some students in the hallway that-" he stopped talking when Sakura silenced him with a finger to his lips. It was a long and painful journey, but she finally managed to clamp his mouth shut with her hand.

"You're too loud..." she whispered, eyebrows furrowed from the previous outburst. "Sorry. I was just very worried." the guy apologized quietly. Sakura removed her hand and flopped from her good side to her back, only to wince by the sudden jerk.

"Y-Your face...!" the boy whispered in sheer horror. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then stood up from his crouched position, and walked to the other side of the room and began to pick up some items. He put them on a tray and pushed the trolley, parking it beside the bed.

"Where are all your injuries Sakura?" the boy asked. Sakura took a breath and replied quietly, "Face. Shoulder. Thigh. Foot. All on one side."

After she finished speaking, the boy leaned over the bed and checked each area she mentioned, as well as glancing at her left side to confirm.

"I'm going to need you to sit up Sakura." the boy said, staring at her foot with deep concern.

"What are you going to do?" Sakura asked weakly, while sitting up. The boy helped her up and gently turned her feet so that both legs hung off the side and faced him. She braced herself for pain while he moved her legs but was surprised to feel none.

"This might hurt a bit." he said and slowly untying her laces, then, after loosening the shoe as best as he could, pulled the shoe off in one smooth motion. The pain was less than expected and Sakura only gripped the sheets and whimpered softly.

He removed her sock agilely [is that a word?] and the cool breeze brought relief to her toes. The boy examined the small holes in her foot to see if the cuts were infected and was relieved to see they weren't. He collected some water in a basin and gently washed the area. Sakura held her head down and gripped the sheets tightly, trying to be strong.

He then wrapped the area in bandages. "It's...tight." Sakura said softly. "Sorry but it's better that way." the boy replied and kissed the bandaged area, put the foot down, and cleared his tray to begin working on the next injured area.

Sakura, on the other hand, yanked her foot back in reflex, "What was that-ow!" but slowly put it back due to the pain on her thigh.

"What was what?" the boy asked as if nothing was wrong. "What do you mean what? You just kissed me! On my foot!" Sakura shouted back out incredulously.

"Hmm? Oh well, my mother always did that to my cuts and said that they would get better faster that way. So I did it to you!" he replied innocently with a grin.

Sakura only stared back, utterly bewildered. "Um...thank you...Itachi..." Sakura muttered.

"Hmm? Oh this is nothing! I'm just doing my job as a friend! Plus, that nurse is practically NEVER at school."

Itachi looked up at her and stared hard. Sakura began to feel uncomfortable, "W-what?" she asked. "I'm going to do your cheek next. I don't like that gash. A girl's face should be spotless. I hope it heals nicely." he said more to himself rather than to her as he took out a piece of cotton and dabbed it into a small dish of rubbing alcohol.

"This will sting a little but bear it." he said quietly. He sat beside her on the bed and held her chin with one hand. This made her blush but the feeling quickly disappeared when the cotton touched her cheek. "Ow!" she cried out and withdrew from the boy beside her.

He held her chin again and cleaned the area. Luckily, the area wasn't very large or deep, and so it was quickly cleaned. He put a large band aid on her cheek.

"There. Should I kiss this one too?" he teased and Sakura's cheeks flared pink. "N-no! I'm sure it'll heal just fine without your 'help'." Sakura retaliated, being difficult. Itachi only sighed.

"Fine. Fine. You know how many girls would kill for these lips? And you're rejecting them?" he asked but threw away the cotton piece and took another one and dipped it in the alcohol for her shoulder.

He used one hand to hold up her sleeve and the other to clean the area. She winced but stayed still so that he could properly clean the area. As he cleaned it, he spoke,

"Sakura, I want to be the one to protect you."

"Itachi...?"

"But because we're in different years, I won't always get the chance to. When I can't protect you though, I want to be able to heal you, or be there to help you along, like now. If I can't do any of the two," he began to bandage the area, "I promise you that I'll still be there, right beside you the entire time, whether it's after or during the time you're getting hurt. I'll bear it with you, okay?" he looked up at her, finished with her arm.

Sakura was speechless. She didn't know how to respond to that. "Well now it's time for another get well soon kiss from yours truly!" Itachi said happily and began to lift up her arm. Realizing what he was about to do, she tried to pry her arm free.

While she was occupied with her arm however, Itachi quickly leaned in and kissed her cheek, making her freeze. "I want that one to get better more though." he said thoughtfully to himself as he leaned to the tray to get another piece of cotton for ther thigh.

_"Is this guy crazy! What's wrong with him?" _Sakura thought.

Itachi pulled up the trolley so it was in front of her. "I know your foot is injured but I need you to raise it you I can get to your thigh. Rest your heel on one of the ledges of the trolley." he said in his 'doctor voice'.

Sakura hesitated, but then followed. The cuts were really just tiny scratches, the largest ones on her foot and arm. So Itachi quickly cleaned the area with alcohol and put a band aid on it.

When he was finished he stared at the band aid, then looked up at Sakura with his eyes only, a playful smirk on his face. Sakura stared back innocently but then put up hands to block herself when she realized,

"Stay away you, you pervert!" she shouted out, cheeks red. Itachi hesitated at being called a perv, then started to chuckle, "Me? No way! But since you're so against it, I feel like doing it more~" he teased and her cheeks only got redder.

"Look at the reaction! I wonder who's the bigger perv?" Itachi joked and grabbed her hands with each of his, the two falling back onto the bed, Itachi on top of her.

They stared at each other, green eyes meeting onyx. Sakura's heart was going crazy. So was her mind. Itachi made a smile that would've made her melt had she not been already lying down. The light on him from the window making him look even more angelic.

"Get well soon Sakura." and with that he let go off her hands, eased off the bed, and left the room without looking back. Sakura watched him leave. And heard the room go quiet once again.

_He didn't kiss my thigh...wait what! Why am I thinking like that! Ah I really am perverted! It's his fault! Doing things like that...! I can't believe I feel disappointed because he only told me to get well...sigh...and what was with that stuff he said earlier...I don't understand: he keeps saying that we could never be a couple. Then he goes and acts like my knight in shining armour, saying he'll protect me...Ah! So confusing! I can't bother!"_

Sakura rolled onto her stomach and quickly fell asleep, tired from the day. The Gym teacher FINALLY returned and kicked down the door shouting out SAKURA! as he entered. Fortunately, Sakura was a dead sleeper, so she didn't wake up.

"She must've passed out from blood loss!" the man freaked, his hands messing up his hair and he freaked. [lol]

He quickly took up some cotton and alcohol and went to Sakura's bedside. He was surprised to see that she had already been taken care of. He also noticed the trolley beside her bed with cotton and alcohol.

"Guess she fixed herself up after waiting too long. I would've done the same." he said quietly and left the room.

Since no one had gotten injured for the rest of the day and the nurse or nurse's assistant were not seen for the entire day, Sakura had a peaceful nap after gym class.

**CHAPTER 7 JAAAAN~ lol**

**Hazaa! Itachi's a perv! And Sasu and Karin and the female student body are jerks! Please review! X3  
**


	8. Chapter 8 Uchiha Mansion

**~48 Years of Independence~**

**If I don't update it's because family thinks I'm too antisocial 'cause I'm on my computer too much so I apologize dear readers!**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 8

Narrator: _...what will the cherry blossom do while it is caught in this Uchiha storm...?_

Since Sakura was a dead sleeper, she ended up sleeping for the rest of the school day. When it was time for Math II, Itachi entered the room once again and sat beside her on the bed.

He shook her slightly but she was out cold. He played with her bangs gently as he thought about what Sasuke said to him yesterday at home. What he thought about Sakura; why he held an interest in her.

After a few minutes the bell rang again for those who didn't hear the first one. Itachi sighed and left the room for class. After class, which was also after school, he came back to see the girl still dead on the bed [it rhymes! lol].

The boy only shook his head in disbelief and chuckled softly. _"This girl."_

He decided to do over her bandages with some clean ones, pausing sometimes so see if she would flinch or wake up. Assuming his previous position, sitting on the bed at her side, he looked out the nearby window and watched the students outside. After awhile he checked his watch and noticed it was getting late. Most of the students had already left but Sakura was still motionless.

Itachi shook her a little roughly but the girl wouldn't budge. He sighed and got up to check the corridors outside. All empty except for one girl in one who squealed when she saw him. He was about to leave when he stopped, approached the girl, and asked her to get Sakura's things from the changing room.

The girl asked if Sakura was his girlfriend and started to criticize said girl but Itachi quickly denied it, using his charm to make her think otherwise, and sent her off with a kiss to the hand.

While she left Itachi went to the nurse's office and picked Sakura up bridal style. She was getting a ride today whether she liked it or not. As he walked down the corridor, the girl he asked to get Sakura's things turned the corner with the pink-haired girl's bag. By the look on her face Itachi knew what was about to happen so he quickly ran up to her,

"Hey could you pass me that bag before you faint?" he asked quickly. The girl looked at the bag in her hand with a blank expression. She then passed it to him and he stepped closer to take it. "Thanks again!" he called out as he walked down the corridor.

The girl just stood there in shock. After turning the corner and taking a few steps he heard a thud and sighed. "Hope that's not a concussion."

Luckily, when Itachi left the school building and began the long trek down the pathway, there was only a maximum of 5 students on the lawn and all were of higher years.

He walked as fast as he could and as soon as he made it to the sidewalk, his limo pulled up and he placed Sakura in the back seat before running around to the other side and getting in.

_"Now, where was this girl's house again?"_ Itachi thought to himself. He looked to Sakura, as if her face could tell him, then sighed.

"Itachi-sama...?" the driver said uncertainly.

"Oh! Don't worry. We'll both be going to my house today." Itachi said with a smile.

The driver nodded awkwardly and shifted gears. The limo drove off towards the Uchiha residence.

Sakura did not stir for the entire ride. Itachi looked out the window. _"How am I going to pull this one off? She already doesn't like me..."_

As the limo pulled up in front of the large mansion and the driver opened Itachi's door, the boy quickly jogged to the other side and lifted Sakura out of the vehicle. As he turned around a gasp was made from the lines of butlers and maids on the staircase entrance.

"Shh! We gotta get her to my room before that old hag finds out! No one and I repeat NO ONE is to know she's here, got it?" Itachi ordered. The staff shuffled to attention and bowed simultaneously. "Understood." They all replied.

"Okay, let's go!" Itachi said and ran up the stairs. The staff followed him as he went. Two maids ran ahead to make sure the path taken to his room was empty. All the butlers formed a small circle around the couple and ran in time with Itachi. The rest of the maids hurried behind: some going off into other pathways to do work as a distraction for anyone who walked past. It would look odd if the entire mansion was deserted of staff.

If anyone had observed this scene, they would have thought Sakura to be a princess who had fallen ill or was being chased; and was being carried to headquarters personally by her secret service: Itachi being her personal guardian.

Fortunately, Sasuke was already in his room and the sons' parents were not at home. On reaching his room, Itachi thanked the staff, who nodded and quickly dispersed. One of the maids asked if he needed anything and he asked them to prepare extra clothes for her before sending them off.

Itachi kicked the door closed with his foot and laid Sakura on his bed. "How can this girl sleep so soundly for so long?" he mumbled. He rolled the covers over her and decided to take a shower in one of the bathrooms in one of the many guest rooms of the house.

He took a shirt, pants and a pair of underwear, and left the room quietly. _"I refuse to be part of a drama where that girl wakes up while I come out of the shower or something."_ he thought as he walked down the hall.

As he walked, the maid he sent off earlier returned, "Itachi-sama, I am sorry but none of her lady's old clothes will fit. From her {talking about Sakura here} size, the apparel will be too big."

"I'm sure there won't be a problem if they're slightly big."

"No it's not that. Big as in," the maid held out her hands horizontally, "TOO big."

Itachi made an 'o' with his mouth and nodded. "Well don't worry about it. I'll think of something. Thanks for looking." he said with a smile.

The maid blushed, stuttered a yes, then scurried off to her work.

"Why do you need women's clothes?" a voice said from behind Itachi. Said boy turned around to see his younger brother in casual clothes with his hands in his pockets and a bored face.

"Oh you didn't know? Ever since that festival last year where I had to cross-dress as a maid I've developed a liking to feminine attire. Don't you think that old hag's clothes would suit me nicely? I could curl my hair too..."

Itachi babbled on and on, trying harder and harder to hold in his laughter as Sasuke's grimace grew more and more out of disgust. Itachi then thought of something.

"Oh could I borrow some of your clothes too? I have a friend who's a bit shorter than me."

Sasuke gave him a WTF-are-you-serious-look but when Itachi raised his eyebrows as if to say 'well?', the little brother sighed in disgust, "Do whatever you want. I don't care what takes your fancy. I'm heading out." Sasuke said as he walked past Itachi.

He held his forehead with his hand as he walked down the corridor. Itachi quickly ran into the nearest soundproof guestroom and LMAOed [lol]. After calming down, he decided to use the bathroom in there.

_**[BACK WITH SAKURA]**_

Sakura FINALLY decided to wake up, after sleeping for six hours and missing half of school. She got up slowly, holding her throbbing head with her hand. After adjusting her eyes, she realized that, she wasn't in the nurse's office anymore...

_"...WHERE THE HELL AM I! Last time I remember, the infirmary was a white room. This room looks like a guy's room from the stuff inside, but, this room is...PURPLE! And what's with these flowers? Oh god I need some water..."_

Sakura slipped off the bed, still holding her a hand to her head. After taking one more look around the room and cringing at the fact that some guy could live in such a room, she walked to the door and opened. Peeping out into the LONG, empty corridor, she began to think she was actually in a hotel.

"Whoa." she whispered. She quietly closed the door and walked silently down the hall. She checked doors as she walked, trying to use their insides to tell her where she was. However, it wasn't helping at all.

Eventually Sakura decided to give up. She turned around but, she had taken many turns and realized she was now lost.

"Great...well, I must search for food and water if I am to survive here. This place seems to be deserted. It's like there's been no one here...for a while..." she muttered to herself but was suddenly proven wrong as forty maids and butlers sprinted down the hallway, some holding towels and others with dusters. Some butlers had empty trays in their hands. Sakura was bumped very vigorously as she was thrown around in the stampede.

She hit the floor with a hard thud. When she came to the hallway was deserted again. "W-wait!" she shouted out then sweat dropped realizing her shout was extremely late.

She then jumped up and ran after them, "WAIT WHERE AM I!"

_**[IN A BATHROOM]**_

_"I guess that old hag is here_..." Itachi thought while he washed his hair in the shower, hearing the stampede outside his room. _"I wonder if Sakura is asleep still."_

_**[In the hall]**_

Sakura followed the faint footsteps of dirt on the carpeted floor. Because she was looking down at the footsteps she didn't see where she was going and squinted when she the bright deep orange and red of the sunset shone in her face.

She looked up and used a hand to block the sun. As her eyes adjusted to the light she saw she standing at the top of a stack of stairs and a large yard was in front of her. There were two lines on either side of her: one with maids and one with butlers. She realized the group as the ones who ran over her previously and quickly tapped the girl at the end of the maid line on the shoulder,

"Um, excuse me but, where exactly am I? What is this place?" Sakura asked.

The maid glanced at her before looking back but then did a double take. "Y-YOU!" she shouted out but then quieted down her voice. "Y-you're not supposed to be here! You're supposed to be asleep! Got back to your room quickly! Quickly and quietly! Hopefully the lady hasn't seen you yet." the maid whispered and nudged Sakura back inside. "W-wait! First tell me where I am! Don't I get to know? This is kidnapping you know!"

The maid was about to respond but fell silent when she heard a car door open and heard her fellow staff members saying good afternoon to the woman who came out of the car.

The maid literally froze because she knew that everyone had bowed as they greeted the lady and therefore Sakura was now in clear view of everyone. She was also in trouble because she not only did not bow to the woman, but had her back to the lady's face.

The woman exited the car and gave a slight bow to the staff but when she looked up at the two women at the top of the stairs she frowned.

"Who is that?" the woman spat out like venom. The way she asked the question made the Sakura and the maid shiver.

The maid hesitated, took a deep breath, then turned around with a low bow, "Pardon me my lady. She is a guest here brought by your eldest son Itachi." she said and apologized a million times in her head to the boy for ratting him out.

_"Itachi? He brought me here? So that's it...but then...that means...THAT WAS HIS ROOM!" _Sakura thought in her head and cringed.

"Itachi?" the woman asked, a frown still clearly evident on her face. It seemed to have grown after she said that sentence. She turned her gaze to Sakura and the pink-haired girl froze on feeling her eyes trying to stab her.

Sakura couldn't talk out of fear so she just nodded her head dumbly. _"This woman is so scary! Why does she look like she wants to kill me? I didn't do anything wrong!...yet...I think..."_

The woman sighed, then smiled brightly, "What's your name dear?" Sakura's eyes widened in shock. The woman was beautiful. How was she that snake before.

"H-Haruno Sakura." Sakura said shyly out of awe at her beauty.

"That's a nice name. Let's talk inside dear." the woman said sweetly. Sakura simply nodded dumbly again.

The woman walked up the stairs elegantly and entered the house. Sakura followed her like a lost puppy.

The maids and butlers then turned and entered the mansion in two lines before separating to go back to their duties.

"So, Sakura, you said Itachi brought you here?" the woman said, not looking back to the girl.

"Um, yes! That's what I'm told..." Sakura mumbled the last part.

"I don't follow." the woman said without any hesitation. This threw Sakura off a bit.

"Oh uh, well, I wasn't exactly conscious when he took me here." Sakura said and rubbed the back of her head.

"...Really?" the mother asked, her face showing she was not pleased. Sakura could tell it was a rhetorical question however. She was talking to herself. She sat down in a suede thinking chair and gestured for Sakura to take a seat in one of the other suede chairs.

The woman suddenly looked up, "Oh where are my manners. I am Itachi and Sasuke's mother. You may call me Mrs. Uchiha."

"Oh It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Uchiha." Sakura said, bowing slightly in her sitting position.

"Would you like something to drink Sakura?"

"Oh yes I would very much appreciate it!" Sakura said and bowed. She was trying to act extremely civilized but was also very thankful that this host could read her mind.

The woman smiled brightly again, then snapped her fingers. A butler appeared instantly and bowed. "Sakura what would you like? Anything, we have it." the woman said with another bright smile.

"Um, a glass of water is fine." Sakura requested, feeling like she was now in a six star restaurant. "One water and a glass of champagne for me please."

The butler nodded, left the room, and returned shortly with the two glasses.

"So Sakura, you attend the same school as Itachi and Sasuke?" the mother said, taking a sip of her champagne.

"Yes." Sakura replied, taking a sip of her water.

Sakura's back was facing the door to the room and so she didn't see when Itachi walked past, paused, walked back to see the back of Sakura's head, look to his mom, freak, turn around, and walk back to where he came from.

However, his mom did see. "Sakura dear, would you please excuse me? I have some business to take care of." the mother said with her same bright smile.

"S-Sure! I don't want to be a bother-" the mother had already left, as if Sakura's response didn't matter.

Normally, she would've gotten up and told the woman that she had bad manners and start and argument but, she remembered the woman's face before at the bottom of the stairs and humbly drank her water.

The lady left the room and turned right to follow Itachi down the hallway. Itachi made sure he was walking at the same pace she was at all times so he could keep the far distance between them exact.

Unfortunately, as soon as Sakura was out of earshot the mother took off her shoes and sprinted down the hall way, "ITACHIIIIIIIIII!" she shouted out. Said child looked behind and ran for his life.

After a few minutes of running, Itachi looked behind him and saw no one. He slowed down to listen for footsteps and sigh with relief when he heard none. _"Whew, lost her..."_

"Son, would you like to tell me why there is a woman not of Uchiha blood in this household?" a voice said from behind him that made him jump. He slowly turned around to face his mom,

"Oh hey mom! Welcome home!" he said, his face sweating. She only called him 'son' when she was mad at him.

"She told me you took her while she was unconscious. Did you kidnap her? Why!" the mother began to accuse the boy. He quickly put up his hands in defense,

"Whoa! It's DEFINITELY not like that. Okay I can explain."

The mother folded her arms, "What year is she in?"

Itachi looked up, "Hmm? Oh she's one year under me..." he answered, unaware of why she asked this.

"So she's in Sasuke-kun's class then?" the mother said curiously.

"Yeah." Itachi answered, still trying to figure out why his mother was smiling.

"Oh this is great! Sasuke-kun has finally found himself a girlfriend! Someone has melted that ice heart!" the mother squealed and twirled on the spot like a fan girl.

Itachi gaped, "HUH?" the boy asked. He couldn't understand HOW the woman came up with such a conclusion.

"Well isn't it obvious? You don't talk to students under you so the only reason you know her is because my he introduced her to you." the mother explained.

Itachi paused. It WAS true that he didn't really pay much mind to lowerclassmen at school but still, the possibility of Sasuke liking Sakura PLUS taking the initiative to introduce her to the man he hated the most was highly unlikely.

_"Of course this woman doesn't think realistically..." _Itachi sweat dropped.

"And you went ahead and brought her here secretly to surprise your little brother didn't you? Oh you really are a good son!" the woman said and embraced him.

"No you don't understand-" Itachi began to explain but the hug threw him off. He hadn't been hugged by his mother since he was a little child and he just remembered that. This was something that would probably never happen again. Especially when the mother finds out the truth.

"Of course Sasuke-kun could've done a LOT better than that girl. Is her hair really pink? How can someone be born with that colour? Well I guess she's _decent_. Maybe he's one of those guys who go for personality over appearance. I mean, she IS nice. A bit too nice...but I guess that's because I'm so beautiful she was speechless, and this is probably the biggest house she's ever been in..." the mother blabbed as she hugged her son.

Itachi was having a flashback of his childhood, however he didn't want to put Sakura in any more trouble than she was already in.

"Mom, Sakura's not Sasuke's girlfriend..." Itachi confessed.

The mother let go of him and stared at him seriously, before breaking back into fan girl mode, "Of course she is why else would you bring her here!"

She walked off down the corridor to her room, "Why else would you bring her here? Don't tell me you fell for her too? Make sure my future daughter-in-law is comfortable as long as she's here please." she said casually while waving her hand.

Itachi froze, _"Fall for...Sakura?...HELL NOOO!"_ the boy thought and hit his head _"Get it together Itachi. Family never liked so they're just teasing me now cuz it's fun. Aren't you used to it by now?"_

The boy sighed and walked back to the room he saw Sakura in. "Sakura-" he called out but as he entered the room he saw it was empty. He began to worry, "Why can't she stay still...!" he cursed under his breath and searched for the girl.

Said girl was currently searching for the kitchen so that she could wash the glass and put it in the cupboard it came from, like she would at home. However she soon became lost and ended up wandering the halls aimlessly.

Eventually, Itachi spotted a pink topped person at the other end of one of the halls he walked through and ran towards it, "SAKURA!" he called out. The person turned around and her eyes went wide when she saw the owner of the voice running towards her,

"ITACHI! I need to talk to you!" she called out and pointed a finger at him with a cross expression.

"Stop wandering around you don't know where anything is in this place so you'll just keep getting lost!" Itachi shouted out, angry because it took so long to find her. And the more he looked the more he became frustrated with her and the more he agreed that he could never like such an irritating person who could make him angry by not even being there.

"How dare you! I can find my way just fine! I know where I am!" Sakura retaliated.

"Oh really? And where are you now?" Itachi asked skeptically.

"Well, right now...I'm in a hallway." Sakura said the last part confidently.

"Yeah, ONE of the FIFTEEN hallways on the FOURTH floor. The room you were in with my mother was on GROUND LEVEL and EACH floor has at LEAST ten hallways. Do you know how long I spent looking for you!"

"B-but...I just wanted to return the cup..." Sakura mumbled and stuck out her bottom lip, looking at him with sad puppy dog eyes of apology. In response Itachi let out a loud exhausted sigh, "Whatever. Let's just head back to my room. We can talk then."

he said, grabbing the cup from her hand and using the other one to drag her by her arm. "Ah-okay okay! I can walk!" she said, almost tripping from his pull. He let her go and walked briskly down the corridor. Sakura trotted behind him, looking around and trying to make mental notes of places so she'd know how to get back here or to his room from here later on, just in case.

"Oh yeah! Your room!" Sakura called out.

"What about it?" Itachi asked tiredly, still weary from searching.

"WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE SUCH A GIRLY ROOM?" Sakura shouted out. Her shout echoed throughout the hallway and Itachi stopped immediately. Sakura walked into his back as a result.

She stepped back and rubbed her nose, "Ow..."

Itachi turned around with one finger in the air, ready to lecture, "My room is NOT girly."

"Yes it is it's purple!"

"It's not purple it's _lavender."_ Itachi corrected.

"Same thing."

"And purple is the colour of royalty you know."

"Then what about the yellow, engraved yet embossed flowers that oh so beautifully decorate your 'royal' walls?" Sakura attacked again.

"Oh you noticed? Yellow is a complimenting colour to purple so it goes nicely with the walls."

"But why FLOWERS Mr. Manly?"

At that comment Itachi was silent.

"Well?" Sakura asked, getting in his face. She knew she would win this argument. Itachi turned around to leave.

"Let's go-" but Sakura grabbed his arm to stop him, "No tell me first!" she insisted.

Itachi sighed. "Fine I'll tell you. Before I was born...my mother...she wanted..." he paused.

"She wanted...?" Sakura edged him on.

"SHE WANTED A GIRL OKAY?" the boy exploded. He then turned and walked down the corridor. "Let's just go!" he complained and turned around to hide his embarrassment.

Sakura burst out laughing, "OH THAT'S WHY? AWW! So what should I call you now? Mary? Ashley?" the girl teased.

"It's not funny! I'm leaving you if you don't hurry up!" he called out as he stamped down the corridor. Sakura giggled and ran to catch up with him.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Is that why you grew out your hair and didn't get a super spiky main-character anime hairstyle like Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

Itachi looked at her, then chuckled, "Probably. It's the least I can do."

"Aww Itachi cares about his mom."

"I'd never care for that old hag!"

"You call her an old hag?"

"That's what she is!"

"That's rude she gave birth to you!"

"So? Not like she was pleased about it!"

"I'm sure she still loves you dearly."

"Ha! She's just like everyone else in this family."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

Itachi just realized he was talking too openly with Sakura and telling her stuff he didn't really want to tell her. "Oh nothing, nothing let's go my room is just around this corner." the boy said and pointed to the door as they turned the corner.

Oh! Can you wait in there for a bit? I'll be right back."

Sakura nodded and Itachi ran off down the corridor and turned right. She walked back into the room...and started laughing again. She just couldn't imagine Itachi growing up in such a room.

Footsteps were heard and Itachi entered the room with a pair of clothes in his hands.

"Here I brought you some clothes so that you could take an evening bath. You must be feeling dirty after getting hurt and falling down today. Sorry they're guy clothes. I don't have any sisters." he said dryly.

"Oh thanks. And don't worry about it I'm okay with these. They look comfortable." Sakura said smiling. She could tell Itachi was a bit touchy about that topic and decided not to comment on it anymore.

"You can use this bathroom, I'm gonna go return this glass for you." Itachi said.

"Okay thanks." Sakura answered with a smile.

She walked into the connected bathroom and Itachi left the room.

"Ooh! This bathroom is so pretty! There are shells patterns on the walls and the tub's made of marble! This place really IS like a high class hotel!" Sakura beamed, feeling like a princess.

"Oww~" she moaned as the water touched her cuts. She had decided to take a bubble bath and soak her wounds. The pain quickly disappeared though and Sakura was soon happily soaking at her mini spa.

_"I'll let her have some time to herself so she can change and stuff."_ Itachi thought as he walked towards the kitchen.

"Here." he called out and put the glass one of the counters in the large kitchen. The man beside him looked up and jumped, "Y-young master! You, you brought back a glass? Why didn't you give it to a butler? You didn't have to walk all this way..."

"Oh it's no problem. I haven't been to this side of the mansion in awhile so I thought I'd look around." Itachi replied smiling.

"I-if that's the case then..." the butler mumbled.

"I'll be seeing you then!" Itachi said with a short wave and left the room.

He was in the wing of the mansion occupied by the workers of the mansion. Rooms such as the laundry room, storage rooms and kitchens were in this wing. The wing the Uchiha family and Sakura were in was on the other side of the building. The family would usually give orders and the butlers and maids would have to run back and forth from the quarters to fulfil the orders.

_**[IN ITACHI'S ROOM]**_

Sakura peeked out of the bathroom door. "Good he's not back yet." Sakura whispered and top toed out of the bathroom.

She had left the clothes on the bed and decided to change quickly before he could come back.

Unfortunately that was a bad idea because Itachi was on his way back to his room. Sakura put the towel on his bed and picked up the shirt to put it on. Luckily, the time Itachi felt like entering the room, Sakura's back was to him.

"Entering~!" he sang out and froze when he saw the dorsal view of the pink-haired woman [lol bio still in my head XP]

Sakura also froze as she heard his voice. Her eyes were wide. She slowly turned her head to see if he was only her imagination. However, he wasn't fake. And he saw her butt. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

Itachi began to apologize, "Sakura I-"

"!" Sakura shrieked and Itachi slammed the door shut with a 'sorry!'.

He slammed the door closed and turned to lay his back against the door. His. face. was. RED. And his heart was beating like crazy.

_"Sakura...I saw...Sakura..."_

It was as if he couldn't process it.

_"Damn it! Didn't I bathe in a different room earlier to avoid this situation! I can't believe I saw her...I guess I really am I perv now..."_

Sakura's entire body had turned red from embarrassment.

_"I can't believe he saw me! OMG HE SAW ME! Why couldn't he at least knock first! He's just like mom! No manners at all! mm~ he saw my butt what do I do now? I can't face him! I don't WANT to face him! HE SAW ME NAKED! HE'S SUCH A PERVERT! He did it on purpose didn't he? I'll never forgive him for this! I feel so exposed~ . I better hurry up and change before he tries again!"_

Sakura quickly put on the shirt and pants. She washed her underwear in the bathroom and used the hairdryer in the room to dry it out. Of course it took awhile but Sakura locked the door this time, which made Itachi jump, and the long time it took to air out the underwear was equivalent to the amount of time the two needed away from each other so they could calm down.

Itachi had put her bag in his room as well. She decided to hide her bra in the bag. It was still dirty and slightly torn when she fell [she was wearing a cloth sports bra].

Also the shirt was loose and thick and she knew she wasn't that big. After looking in the mirror she confirmed it. After finishing putting on her apparel, she hesitantly unlocked the door.

Itachi jumped up on hearing the lock click. He quickly began to run down the corridor but tripped and fell. Sakura looked out to see him on the floor.

"Um, I'm finished." she said shyly, her cheeks red. Itachi looked up at her, then jumped up again and brushed off his clothes. "Oh right! So um..." Itachi tried to start a conversation but couldn't look her in the eyes directly. His cheeks were also slightly pink.

There was an awkward silence between the two that Sakura's stomach didn't hesitate to interrupt with a loud growl. Sakura looked flustered, "Oh that's right I missed lunch..." she laughed sheepishly and rubbed a hand behind her head.

"Oh well why don't you join my family for dinner?" he asked awkwardly, unable to flirt with her at the moment.

"Really? I don't want to impose..."

"Hey I kidnapped you. The least I can do is make sure my hostage lives until I get the ransom." Itachi said and turned, walking slowly down the corridor.

"Hey~!" Sakura complained but smiled as she looked at his back. He was slightly recovering from the situation. She was also a little happy that he didn't try anything when he entered the room earlier. She caught up with him and the two strolled to the dining room.

**Here's chapter 8 guys!****Well, there's chapter 8 I made it long since I took so long :P**_**  
**_


	9. Chapter 9 Blackmail Backfired!

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 9

_Narrator:__ ...how is it possible that another storm exists within the first one? Will the cherry blossom survive?..._

As the two entered the vast dining room Sakura gaped. The room was as large as the auditorium at her school. A long table extended from one end of the room to the other. On it were a line of candles and a total of 30 chairs surrounding it.

From the ceiling hung dozens of golden and glass chandeliers, and the sound of cutlery was heard to the right. The sound stopped on their entry. "Sorry we're late." Itachi said casually as he walked along the length of the table to the two people at the end. Sakura tailed behind him, feeling scared under the glare of the person beside Mrs. Uchiha.

Itachi and Sakura bowed when they neared the two. The mother returned the bow but the second slammed his cutlery down and stood up,

"What," he spat out venomously, "is _she_ doing here and _why _is she wearing _MY_ clothes!" the boy said, furious. Sakura immediately began to blush and looked down at her clothes.

"Oh don't you remember Sasuke? I told you that I had a friend who also enjoyed cross dressing and you said I could lend her your clothes." Itachi said like it was nothing, smiling at the boy's glare.

The mother joined in on the conversation, "Itachi brought her here as a surprise for you son!" she said happily. She only called Sasuke son when she was being affectionate, unlike with Itachi.

"She had to take a bath so she needed a change of clothes and who better to lend her some than her boyfriend?"

Sasuke and Sakura looked at the woman with a WTF expression. "Girlfriend!" "Boyfriend!" The two said simultaneously. They looked at each other. Sakura's cheeks were pink. Sasuke cut his eye at her to look back to his mother. This startled Sakura.

"You can't be serious. And you knew about this!" he said pointing at Sakura without taking his eyes off his mother.

"Oh son there's no need to hide your happiness behind anger. You can thank Itachi for giving you such a wonderful surprise now." the mother said with a smile oblivious to her son's glare.

Sasuke scoffed, "I've lost my appetite." the boy said and threw his handkerchief on the table as he stormed out of the room. It was awkwardly quiet after that. The mother sighed, "Oh that boy, he just doesn't know how to show happiness...ah! Sakura dear you must be hungry. Please sit and enjoy an Uchiha dinner." the mother said proudly to Sakura, who obeyed, taking the seat Itachi pulled out for her with light pink on her cheeks.

Itachi took the seat beside Sakura, farther away from his mom, who sat at the head of the table. There was little conversation: it was mainly between Sakura and the mother; Itachi only made snide comments on Sakura's responses and was shut up with a motherly glare most times.

After dinner, Itachi was told to find Sakura a room to stay in and the two left the room.

"I'm stuffed!" Sakura said and patted her belly like an old man. "That's so uncute." Itachi said with a sigh.

"What? I was just mimicking _you_ earlier." Sakura defended herself.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Itachi replied innocently.

"What I did was nothing compared to YOU. First you leaned back in the chair and rubbed your belly while you said that and then you burped! REALLY LOUDLY!"

"I do not recall such things. Such disgraceful behaviour can only be found amongst commoners such as yourself." Itachi said and Sakura stopped walking.

Itachi stopped to look back at her. "You did NOT just say that." Sakura said seriously.

Itachi smirked and walked back to her. He leaned in and spoke softer, "What are you gonna do about it?" he asked, trying to intimidate her.

Sakura hesitated, then smirked and replied, "I'll put up pictures of your room all over the school tomorrow."

Itachi's eyes widened, "You wouldn't!" he stood up straight to look at her properly, searching for a bluff.

"I have a phone and it has a camera~" Sakura teased, dangling the phone in front of him.

The boy smirked and grabbed the phone and turned, running to his room, "Not anymore!" he called out.

The sudden action caught Sakura off guard, "I-Itachi get back here!" Sakura called out as she ran after the boy.

The two children ran past a pair of maids on their way to the bedroom.

"Those two look so cute together don't they?" one of the maids commented.

"But I heard that girl is the younger Uchiha's girlfriend." the other replied.

"Really? I can't imagine those two as a couple." the first maid said again.

"Me too. Maybe she'll fall for the older master. They already seem to be getting along well and back in the dining room it didn't seem like she was on good terms with Sasuke-sama..."

The two looked at each other, then turned to direction of the children and whispered shouted, "ItaSaku Fighting!"

They then giggled to themselves and quickly ran down the corridor before the mother or someone else caught them slacking off.

When Itachi entered the room he turned around and held the phone high in the air. Sakura entered the room shortly to see a grinning Itachi and her phone hovering above him.

"Give it back!" she shouted as she jumped for the phone. "What's the matter? Too short?" Itachi laughed and Sakura tried her best to jump higher. Each time she tried to reach Itachi stepped back a little to keep his hand out of reach.

"That's...not fair!" Sakura shouted the words as she jumped. Itachi laughed, "Aww, you look so cute when you're annoyed you know that?"

"What...ever!" Sakura shouted out, ignoring his teasing even though she blushed a little at the comment.

She tried one last time but missed. When she was landing, however, she landed on her injured foot, forgetting it was still hurt and winced. Itachi quickly noticed and realized the situation.

He brought both hands to hold her shoulders in case she was about to fall. "You okay?" he asked.

Sakura's expression suddenly changed from one of pain to one of victory as she smirked at the boy in front of her, "Gotcha!" she shouted out and grabbed the hand Itachi had the phone in.

"Wa- That's not fai-!" Itachi shouted out as he stepped back in an attempt to get free but tripped over Sakura's school bag that was by the bed and since Sakura was holding onto his hand she got pulled down as well.

"Oof!" was the sound effect made [lol]

Sakura put one hand down to push herself up, only to realize that her hand was on Itachi's chest and she was on top of him. She froze.

"Oh look, now we've changed positions." Itachi teased her again, amused at her facial reaction. "Are you going to tell me to get well or, something else?" he continued and her face got redder.

"No because I take love seriously and I'd never do anything like that unless I was with the person, "She said quickly pushed herself off of him so he couldn't see her blush.

However she couldn't move away because Itachi had grabbed the arm she used to push herself off his chest and kept it there. She turned her head to look back to him.

"Itachi...?"

The boy's eyes widened and he suddenly let go her arm, "I guess you really ARE a pervert then because I didn't mean something else like _that_." he said with a sly grin on his face.

"M-me? Y-you're the pervert here!" she said and pushed off his chest, sitting up on the bed between his legs. "It doesn't matter anyways because I got my phone back." she said moving a little away from him and turning away.

"But that's because you pretended to hurt your foot!" Itachi said in defence, sitting up on the bed.

"I didn't pretend I really did step on my injured foot!" Sakura said, her back to him on the bed, "I was just using my handicap to my advantage." she said as she checked to see her phone was intact.

"Now for the pictures..." she said distantly as she looked up the camera option on her phone.

_"Why did I hold her back?"_ Itachi thought as he stared at the bed sheet between his legs. He looked up at Sakura's back. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

_"Ah it doesn't make sense to think there's a reason behind it. I always mess with her and never cared about it before. It's fun. Why would there be another reason?"_

Sakura held the phone up to the lavender wall in front of her, "This will work. I can get the wall plus this girly looking mirror. Zoom in to get the fairy's engraved in it...okay one, two,-" she started counting when two arms came from behind her and the two hands attached to them used hers to turn the phone up a little more,

"Don't forget to get the flowers at the top of the wall." Itachi whispered, his breath on her neck and left ear. This sent shivers up her spine and she jumped. Itachi let go of her hands and dropped them to her lap. She didn't realize because she had turned to shout at the grinning boy.

"Itachi wha-"

*click*!

Sakura had started to shout at Itachi but stopped when she heard a click. Itachi's face also changed to one of curiosity. "What was that?"

"That was...the camera..." Sakura said blankly and turned her head to the phone still in her outstretched hands. When she had turned her head to scold Itachi for acting out of line, her hands had adjusted from the movement.

Sakura and Itachi both stared at the phone as it loaded the picture it just took. When the picture showed up Sakura's face was one of shock. Itachi on the other hand had an amused expression on his face,

"Would you look at that! We look like lovers in that pic! You should make it the phone's wallpaper!" he teased and Sakura turned beet red.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-why would I do something like that?" Sakura said jumping up off the bed and out of the position she was in with him in the picture. She looked back at the picture.

The picture on her phone showed Sakura on the bed holding the phone out and Itachi sitting right behind her, one leg on either side her crossed ones, and one hand on each of her thighs. From the angle of the picture, since Sakura had turned her head to scold Itachi, it actually looked like the two were kissing each other.

/[And so it basically looked like one of those pictures girls put up on facebook with their boyfriend ROFL XD]/

Itachi was rolling on the bed and laughing while holding his stomach. He calmed down when he thought of another thing to tease her about, "I wonder what your boyfriend _Sasuke-kun_ will say when he finds out you're cheating on him with his brother." the boy ended with a fox grin.

Sakura turned around and grabbed one of his pillows. She then proceeded to beat him with it, "Stop teasing me about this stuff I don't even know how such a false rumour started!" the pink-haired girl shouted out while she whacked him silly.

"Okay! Okay! Calm down!" Itachi said as he laughed.

"I'm not a pervert and I'm not cheating on anyone I'm deleting that picture now!" she shouted out, still flinging the pillow with all her might.

"Okay I get it you're not cheating! Stop hitting my face now geez!" the boy responded and Sakura gave one last blow and let go of the pillow. She turned her back to him with the phone in her hands.

Itachi moved the pillow from his face and looked up at Sakura. Sakura stared at the picture, blushing like crazy.

_"What would it be like if I really WAS Itachi's girlfriend? Would we actually do stuff like in this picture? And everyone thinks that I'm Sasuke-kun's girlfriend so, does that mean that, I'll be doing stuff like this with him! No way! That's impossible! Sasuke also didn't seem to know about it so I don't think it's true. But...for some reason, I don't really want to...and I also don't want to delete this picture..."_

"Well?" Itachi teased her again, leaning on the pillow.

"I-It's a long process!" Sakura jumped. She was still in her thoughts when he spoke to her.

"Just press yes to delete...oh I know! Don't delete it yet!" the boy said and Sakura turned to him.

"Why not?" she asked, confused.

"Lend me your phone I want to put the picture on my computer and make it my desktop background!" the boy said with a grin.

Sakura blushed, "W-w-why would you want to do something like that?" the girl stuttered.

"Well you don't want to put it on your phone and you're gonna delete it anyways. But I want to keep it because it's a precious memory of the first girl to ever come inside my room and even the Uchiha mansion!" the goy said innocently with another grin.

"R-really?" Sakura asked.

"Yup! No girl outside of family has come inside this house."

"Oh...well why can't we just take another one?" Sakura asked, still flustered at the thought of that picture taking up an entire monitor screen.

"No it has to be that one!" Itachi said and got out of the bed to turn on the computer. He turned to the girl and held out his hand for her to put the phone in it. Sakura instead withdrew the phone to her chest, holding it with both hands and shaking her head as a 'no'.

"Oh come on Sakura it's not like anyone's going to come into my room to use the computer and see it by accident." Itachi said.

Sakura hesitated, "I'll give you...if you don't make it your wallpaper and you password protect the picture." the girl said, looking away.

Itachi sighed, "Okay fine I'll do that. I'll keep it safe in case you want me to send it to you in the future when you're feeling lonely with all your cats." Itachi teased again once the phone was in his grasp. Sakura had an angry expression on her face, "What!"

"I'm just joking don't hit me with the pillow again please." Itachi pleaded and then laughed as he sat down in the chair in front of his computer. Sakura stood to the right of him and looked at the monitor's background as he turned on the monitor.

She immediately burst out laughing. Itachi pulled her down into a crouching spot and clamped a hand over her mouth, "Be quiet! Do you want someone to come in here?" he scolded her but she could see he was smiling as he said it.

Itachi's current desktop background was a picture of a younger version of himself in a butler-ish tuxedo and a younger version of his little brother Uchiha Sasuke...in a pink sugarplum fairy dress.

"Why do you guys look like that?" Sakura said softly while trying not to laugh loudly.

"We were dressed up to go to a Halloween party. This was about 10 years ago. Doesn't he look cute?" Itachi said and snickered.

"You look very dashing yourself." Sakura complimented him. He looked at her with wide eyes but she was still staring at the monitor. He cleared his throat, "Well I AM Uchiha Itachi, the hottest guy alive. I was born handsome." he said proudly and combed a hand through his hair.

Sakura only sweat dropped. She sighed, "And I bet you were just as narcissistic back then as well." she muttered but Itachi didn't hear.

"You know, I've never shown anyone this picture before. You're also the first person outside of my immediate family to see this. It's a Kodak moment." he said with a grin that made her blush. Sakura quickly looked away.

"I-it's getting late so we should discuss sleeping arrangements, Which room am I sleeping in?" Sakura asked as she stood up and walked to her bag.

"This one." Itachi replied in monotone. Sakura looked at him but he was busy downloading the picture from her phone.

"No seriously, which guest room. Is it one of the one's on the fourth floor?" Sakura asked, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"I AM serious. I want you to stay in this room because it's my room and I know you'll be safe in here." he said, still facing his computer.

"Done!" he said happily before Sakura could respond to his previous explanation. He got up after turned off the computer. "And here is your phone ma'am. I'll just get some clothes and be out of your way." he said, opening one of the draws.

"Oh and," Itachi said as he walked to another dresser in the room, "Don't go in here." he said as he pulled said draw open.

"Why?" Sakura asked innocently.

"Because I keep these," Itachi pulled out a pair of boxers that he planned on wearing tomorrow to school, "in there."

He rolled up the clothes he took out and picked up his deodorant and walked to the door. "Enjoy your stay Sakura. You can mess around and go through all my stuff except for that draw. You understand why. I'll be checking that draw tomorrow to see if you really are a pervert or not. I know the exact order of everything in there!" he said and dodged and flying pillow as he ran to the door.

"I told I'm not a pervert!" Sakura shouted out as she threw the pillow.

"Hai, hai." the boy said as he left the room.

"Wait!" Sakura called out as she ran into the hallway after the boy. Itachi turned around and raised his eyebrows.

"What if I need something? Which room are you going to be in?" Sakura asked.

"Oh I'll be in this room right here so you don't have to worry." Itachi said, pointing with his foot to the door on the opposite wall to the left of his original room.

"Just knock on the door." he said as he entered the room. Sakura followed him in like a puppy. He put his items down on the bed in the room.

"Wow it looks just like a hotel room..." Sakura gaped.

"Heh. I like my room better though."

"Then why don't you stay in there and I'll stay in here?" Sakura asked.

Itachi sighed, "Because I don't trust the maids here...or my own mother."

"?" Sakura looked at him in confusion. He sighed again.

"Sakura. You are the first girl to enter this mansion. Plus, everyone thinks you're Sasuke's girlfriend. I don't want them trying anything on you. For all I know they'll kidnap you in the middle of the night and put you in his bed. I want you in my room because only I have the key to my room so you can lock the door and be safe." Itachi explained.

Sakura was silent. Itachi stopped sorting out his things and looked up at her. She then burst out laughing, "You're paranoid something like that would NEVER happen!"

"You don't know them! I do! The women here are crazy! All of them! Especially that old hag whose completely star struck over the fact that that emo kid has finally found someone even though he hasn't!"

"Are you saying...that you care about me then?" Sakura said looking at him with slightly pink cheeks.

Itachi quickly looked away, "Pssh of course not. I just know that I wouldn't appreciate someone doing that to me and if it did happen you wouldn't be able to find your way out of this place. His room's on a different floor..."

Sakura pouted, "Hmph! Well! If that's all then there's no need to worry because I'll be fine in this room! Go sleep in your room since you like it better!" Sakura said and picked up his things and pushed him out of the room and into his.

"S-Sakura no!"

"Don't worry! Since you're in this room I'm sure you'll be able to hear when the 'crazy maids led by your mother' come and kidnap me!" Sakura mocked him and took up her bag. She walked into the guest room and slammed the door closed.

"Sakura wait!" Itachi grabbed the door handle but Sakura had locked the room so he couldn't get in. "Sakura!" he called out and knocked repeatedly on the door.

"Go to sleep already I'll be fine!" a muffled shout came from behind the door.

After a few more knocks Itachi gave up with a sigh.

"Fine! Don't say I didn't warn you then!" he shouted and banged his fist against the door one last time before going into his room and slamming the door closed.

The hallway was then eerily silent. A few minutes later a maid exited the room next to Sakura's with a trolley filled with cleaning supplies. She had an evil smile on her face. She closed the door to the room and pushed the trolley down the corridor.

_"Itachi-sama you are clever but Sakura-san would never believe you because this is her first time here. We are the lady's humble servants and therefore we share her feelings. Sakura is Sasuke's future wife so it is only natural for the two to share a room together...SasuSaku Fighting!"_ The maid thought as she pushed the trolley.

She went to one of the lounges in which the Itachi and Sasuke's mother was sitting on a sofa facing the fireplace.

"Sakura is in a guest room as planned my lady."

"Excellent," the mother replied, "You will execute the plan at 2 AM, when all children will be well asleep."

"Yes, my lady." the maid bowed and left the room with the trolley.

_"She's my son's fiancée Itachi...therefore you can't have her."_ the mother thought as she watched the flames cackle.

Itachi flumped onto his bed with a loud sigh. He looked at the pillow on his bed and flung it at himself,

_"I don't know why but somehow I feel this is my fault. She originally had no problem staying in my room so why was she angry?"_ he thought and played back the conversation in his head but got no answers.

Sakura collapsed on her bed and looked at the ceiling, _"What's with him! He says he doesn't care about me yet he's going to such an extent...before at the pool he said he checked on me to make sure I wasn't bored and that I was okay but now he says he doesn't care at all...I'm so confused!"_

She took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the picture. She moved her finger over the yes button to delete the picture, but she just couldn't press it. _"This picture was supposed to be used against him...but now I'm the one who has a problem with it!" _She sighed and threw her hand away from her body. It landed softly on the bed at her side.

She turned and put her face into the pillow, "I just can't do it..." she exhaled into the pillow.

**Sakura is supposedly Sasuke's girlfriend and the mansion is supporting this, but Sakura seems to be leaning to Itachi! What will happen tomorrow morning! Please review! **


	10. Chapter 10 Bed and Breakfast

**Here's next chap guys ;p**

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN NARUTO NEVER WILL :(**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 10

Narrator: _...why does this uchiha storm seem to be getting bigger? can our cherry blossom find a moment's rest?..._

Sasuke woke up to see the calm, cream colour of his ceiling.

_"Today's that day right? So no rush to school this time." _ he thought and began to turn onto his side.

_"Now I can just-"_ he stopped mid-thought when he saw that there was someone else sleeping in his bed, and that it was Sakura.

His face went through a series of expressions as he tried to comprehend the situation. First shock, then that quickly composed to anger, which became confusion with a hint of shock again, then a shake of the head to clear all thoughts, followed by a smirk.

_"Whatever happens, I should just use it to my advantage. No doubt Sakura spent the entire day with Itachi. I wonder how she'll respond to having spent a night with me?"_

Sasuke propped himself up on one elbow so that he faced her. Not soon after Sakura began to stir. She had slept for most of the day yesterday and so was waking up pretty early. She was sleeping on her side already facing the Uchiha.

After shuffling a bit, she opened her eyes and stared right into the eyes of the man across from her.

"Good morning princess." Sasuke said with a smirk. Sakura stared at him through half slits due to the morning light. When her eyes adjusted to the light and she saw him looking at her like they were already married she paused, then closed her eyes.

"It must be a dream..." she mumbled and put her head back on the pillow. A few seconds later she jumped up into a sitting position and stared at the boy beside her. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at her in response to the sudden movement.

"S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-SASUKE-KUN!"

"yes?" he asked with another smirk.

"W-w-w-wha..." Sakura couldn't even place words in her mouth. As she tried to think of words, Sasuke sat up and got out of the bed to reveal that he had no shirt on and went to his large window and pulled back the curtains.

Sakura's entire face was red when she realized she slept with a shirtless man last night whom she barely knew. As he pulled back the curtains Sakura squinted her eyes against the bright sunlight. As they adjusted she saw Sasuke's body, enveloped in light.

_"Why does it look like an angel woke me up this morning? How is this happening!"_

"Did you have a good night's rest, Sakura?" Sasuke asked sincerely as he turned around to face her, light giving him wings.

"What...what happened last night?" Sakura asked, trying really hard not to exaggerate her thoughts.

Sasuke smirked. "You don't remember?" he asked as he walked towards her.

Sakura looked at him waiting for him to continue.

"You ran into my room and banged on the door loudly. When I opened it you practically jumped on me saying you were scared of staying alone in a new place and asked to sleep with me. I didn't mind though so don't worry." Sasuke ended with a smile.

He walked to his dresser and took out a shirt. As he put it on he asked the frozen girl in his bed, "Would you care to accompany me to breakfast?"

He looked to her and smirked at her expression. She looked like she was going out of her mind.

_"OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID SOMETHING LIKE THAT! WHAT KIND OF CLASSIC SHOUJO SCENE IS THAT? I'm not that kind of girl!...am I? I don't think so...but I don't remember anything like that...I remember falling asleep in my own room though...did I sleepwalk? Did I really say all that while I was sleepwalking? And how did I know where Sasuke-kun's room was? Something's up..."_

Sakura was so lost in her thoughts trying to remember what happened last night that she didn't notice Sasuke walk up to her and lean in closer by putting one hand on either side of her.

"Or would you rather do something else first?" he whispered to her, a smirk evident on his face. The woman's face turned red immediately and she brushed him off.

"N-No breakfast sounds good let's go!" she quickly covered up and got off the bed on the other side and walked to the door. Sasuke chuckled softly to himself before following the jumpy child out into the hallway.

As they walked there was silence between the two. Sasuke suddenly put his arm around her and she jumped away in reflex. Sasuke look at her innocently,

"The dining hall is this way Sakura. I was just directing you." he explained with another smile that made her heart jump.

"O-okay but you can just tell me next time okay? Okay awesome so let's go!" Sakura asked and answered for him as she walked ahead. Sasuke however pulled her back towards him and cupped her cheek with his other hand, "Are you okay? You seem so jumpy today. Are you feeling well?" He moved his hand from her cheek and put it against her forehead. Sakura couldn't respond she only nodded.

"And now you're cheeks are red! Are you sure?" Sasuke asked again. Sakura pushed him off again, "I-I'm fine!" she shouted out as she pushed herself away.

"Sakura?" a voice called out and said girl turned around to see Itachi at the other end of the hall looking at her. He then sprinted down the hallway.

"Are you okay? Where have you been? I've been looking for you! You're room door was open and-" Itachi shouted out as he ran but stopped talking when he reached her and saw Sasuke behind her.

The younger Uchiha put an arm around her shoulder again, "She's fine. Because she spent last night with me.'' Sasuke explained, a wide smirk on his face. Sakura didn't see because he was behind her and the words he said made her blush madly again.

_"Oh god I really AM a pervert."_

"Um, I'm not too sure of what happened last night either. Why don't we all go for breakfast and talk about it there?" Sakura offered, trying hard to remain composed with Sasuke so close to her.

"Yes, let's." Sasuke agreed and walked ahead, Sakura still attached to him. Sakura reluctantly walked along side him. She glanced at Itachi and saw an angry face she had never seen before. His glare wasn't directed at her however, it was for his brother: who was wearing a proud smirk because he knew Itachi was glaring at him.

Itachi followed them through the hallways and to the dining room. When they arrived, Sasuke and Itachi's mother was already seated and well into her meal. When she saw the couple entering the room and the evil aura of the man behind she smiled to herself.

"Well good morning happy couple! You all seem well rested!" She said happily as she clasped her hands together.

"G-good morning!" Sakura stuttered and bowed but then sweat dropped as she bowed realizing Sasuke had bowed with her and she had therefore just admitted that she was in a happy couple relationship with him.

Itachi sighed and walked to his seat without greeting his mother. Sakura stood up and saw his dull expression as he began to order his meal to a maid.

His mother put on a cross expression, "You have not greeted me son." she said coldly.

"And neither you, me, mother." Itachi replied just as coldly, "But you seemed to be just fine with those two I didn't think you'd mind. Good morning anyways." the boy answered as he received his food and thanked the maid with a nod.

"Is that attitude?" the mother asked.

"Oh not at all, mother." Itachi emphasized mother. He always said it in response to her calling him son when she was angry.

The mother hmphed and clasped her cutlery together as a sign that she was finished. "Well I'm sure you'll find a woman soon enough to make me even happier." she said again with her famous bright yet fake smile. Itachi returned one just as fake.

The maid next to her quickly cleared her plate for her and she stood up, "I'm so sorry that I can't stay and chat with you Sakura dear, but I must attend to other things." she said with her bright smile. Sakura smiled back genuinely, "It's okay I'm sure you are a very busy person Mrs. Uchiha. Have a nice day."

The woman nodded in response and left the room. As soon as she left she ran down the hall to the other entrance of the dining hall where a group of maids were and peeped at the three children with the women.

"I see the plan was successful?" she whispered and on of the maids giggled.

"Yes my lady. Sakura was successfully transferred to Sasuke-sama's room last night." another maid whispered.

"Excellent. And from my son's face it seems he isn't angry to have found her sleeping next to him. Things are moving along nicely!" the mother whispered back happily.

"But what about Itachi-sama, my lady?" another maid whispered asked.

"Oh him? He needs to understand that Sakura is my son's future wife. He is not to interfere. She is not the one for him." the mother lectured in a whisper.

The maids fell silent after she finished speaking. They looked amongst each other instead. The mother then flashed her arms at them, "Shh! It's starting!" she shouted whispered.

Sasuke pulled out the chair opposite to Itachi and allowed Sakura to sit there. He then took the seat beside her. Sasuke turned to her and opened his mouth slightly, "What would you like to order Sakura?" Itachi asked quickly, before Sasuke could. The younger sibling glared at him.

"Close your mouth if you're not talking Sasuke-_kun_. Wouldn't want a fly to get caught in there. It'd be so unfortunate...for the fly." Itachi muttered the last part but Sakura heard and giggled. Itachi looked up at her and smiled.

"What was that!" the mother whispered shouted, "Itachi's making his move again! Come on Sasuke! It's your turn!"

"Fighting!" the maids around her shouted whispered.

Sasuke spoke up, "Sakura," he took her hand and she blushed in response, "I recommend 2 English muffins topped with hickory smoked ham, 2 poached eggs, and a savoury Hollandaise sauce along with a fresh fruit medley and a glass of any kind of juice."

Sakura stared blankly at him. _"What...the hell did he just say?" _she thought as she stared. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask 'well?' and she blinked back to reality, "Oh um, sure! That sounds nice." she said with a smile.

"Excellent." Sasuke said and let go off her hand. He turned to the maid beside, "We'll have the usual." the maid nodded and quickly left the room. There was an awkward silence. Itachi was glaring at Sasuke, who was smirking back at him. Sakura was looking at the spot where her plate would be placed. She lost in her thoughts of last night, the hallway, plus trying to imagine what her breakfast would look like.

"Good job, my son!" the mother cheered whispered from the door. The maids waved little flags with Sasuke's face on them.

Itachi stopped glaring at his brother to glance at Sakura and noticed her perplexed expression, "Don't worry Sakura, the name is long but all that food he said is surprisingly edible." he said with a smile as she looked up at him. She blushed slightly and nodded her head.

The maid soon entered the room again with a tray as Sakura asked Itachi, "So, what are you having?"

"Bacon, eggs, pancakes and orange juice." he said simply as his plate was placed in front of him and he pointed to it with a smile. "Oh..." Sakura said with a slow nod as she saw his meal and thought about rethinking her order. However, when she saw her meal she realized that both orders seemed yummy and began to eat hers as soon as Sasuke's plate was given to him.

Conversation was little after the meals were received. It manly comprised of a 'this is delicious!' from Sakura, followed by smirk from Sasuke and a glare from Itachi.

Sakura was finished with the main dish and was steadily cleaning out her fruit dish. She only got one cherry and decided to save it for last. The two Uchiha's were glaring at each other between bites but when Itachi glanced at Sakura again, he noticed that she was avoiding her cherry until she was finished and smirked back at Sasuke.

The boy furrowed his eyebrows to show his confusion at his brother's expression. As Sakura finished her dish she used her spoon to scoop up the cherry. Right as she was about to bring it to her mouth Itachi stood up and leaned forward. He grabbed her hand holding the spoon and brought it to his mouth, capturing the cherry and sitting back down feeling accomplished.

He gave Sasuke a smug look as he ate the cherry, but was startled when his name got called out, "Itachi!" Sakura shouted out. Itachi looked to her innocently and raised his eyebrows as he was still eating.

"You ate my cherry! I only got one and you stole it! You thief how dare you!" she quarrelled. "Oh I still got a piece you want it?" he said and held half of the cherry between his teeth to show her.

"N-no way I'd want it after it already went into your mouth!" Sakura said as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.

"Ah~ Sakura-chan's indirect kiss tastes like a cherry. I wonder what the real one would taste like..." he said out loud to no one in particular as he leaned back in his chair with his hands clasped over his stomach.

Sakura's face turned red and her eyes went wide but she kept her face looking away from the two men at the table. Itachi smirked at Sakura's reaction and it grew as he turned to Sasuke.

"Oh darn that Itachi. He's too good at flirting with girls. How will you retaliate my innocent son?" the mother whispered commented. The maids behind her were blushing from Itachi's comment.

The younger sibling however smirked himself, "I could tell you what it tastes like..." he trailed off, a smirk on his face. Itachi's expression changed instantly to one of anger and concern.

Sakura too turned around to face Sasuke, "What!" she asked.

"Oh Sakura, you don't even remember that much? I feel hurt..." Sasuke said and sighed as he looked at his plate with a sad face. Sakura's showed she was freaking out inside. She was speechless. Itachi stared hard at Sasuke, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I thought I told you earlier. You were very scared and I had to comfort you in some way to calm you down...but I didn't mind." he repeated the last part he said in the hall as he cupped her cheek and stared into her eyes. Sakura was blushing but her mind was ready to explode. HOW was it she could not remember such an event? Even if she forgot everything else, at least something as important as a kiss with the most popular boy in the school should've stuck.

"Maybe it was just the trauma." he whispered to her and her heart flipped. Itachi did NOT look happy. Sakura looked like she was about to faint.

"That's it son! Even though nothing of the sort happened your potential as a businessman is shining through!" the mother shouted whispered.

Itachi cleared his throat to get some attention, "Normally I'd feel the need to leave you two love birds alone but, we still have school; even if it starts at 12. So Sakura, you should get your stuff together and I'll give you a lift."

"Hmm?" she looked at him. Then it clicked and she jumped up, "Wait aren't we skipping school right now!"

"You didn't know? Today's a half day. School starts at 12." Itachi said as he stood up and a maid cleared his meal.

"Let's go." he said as he pushed up his chair. Sakura began to follow him but Sasuke stood up suddenly, with one hand on her arm. "Don't worry Itachi, I'll be glad to have her join me in my limo on the way to school."

Itachi glared at him. "Well she has to get her stuff in the room across from mine so we'll be heading there now."

"Oh we can just ask a maid to do that you know. No need to make an effort." Sasuke commented back with a glare.

Itachi walked to the two and put one hand on Sasuke's, the other on Sakura's other arm, "You know Sasuke, you shouldn't be so clingy with her, she might just dump you because of it. Wouldn't want such a thing affecting your reputation now would you?" Itachi whispered to the boy in front of him.

Sasuke stared at him, then let go of Sakura slowly. "Glad to see you understand. Let's go Sakura." Itachi said and pulled Sakura's arm as he left the room with her. She looked back at Sasuke once before they turned to leave the room.

Sasuke was looking down at the empty cups on the table. He stared at one, then cursed and hit it off the table. The glass fell and broke as it hit the floor. The maid in the room jumped at his sudden action of rage. He looked at her and she froze under his glare.

"WELL? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? CLEAN IT UP!" he shouted out at her. The maid jumped again but quickly pulled out a piece of cloth and began to collect the pieces of glass.

The boy then stormed out of the room and went the opposite direction of Itachi and Sakura.

"! Mrs. Uchiha! What are you still doing here?" Sakura called out as she saw a glimpse of the woman among the crowd of maids quickly trying to walk down the corridor. The group stopped walking, and a woman pushed out of it.

"Oh Sakura dear! You're finished with Breakfast? I was just walking past the room again. These maids are accompanying me to do something." she lied gracefully with her bright smile.

"Oh okay." Sakura responded with a smile but Itachi was glaring at the woman. He now understood the situation perfectly.

The woman nodded and turned around, quickly walking down the hall with the maids and taking the first turn that came up. They almost collapsed as soon as they turned.

"Whew. Escaped that boy." the mother said with a sigh of relief. She stood up, "He's good. But I will make sure he doesn't succeed." she said before fixing her hair and walking off. The maids quickly scrambled to go back to their duties.

Itachi sighed and began walking down the corridor. Sakura ran to catch up to him because he was practically power walking.

"Itachi wait up!" she called out and he suddenly stopped. She ran into his back. "Ow. Why'd you stop so suddenly?" she asked holding her nose.

"Sakura." Itachi asked seriously, his back still to her. "What?" she replied.

He turned around "Do you really like Sasuke, or are you just that easy?"

Sakura was immediately offended by the question, "I am NOT easy!" she said angrily in defence. "Oh really?" he said walking closer to her. She began to walk back but soon reached a wall.

"Because it seems to me that any guy to does this," he cupped her cheek and she blushed, "gets that reaction." he confirmed and walked down the corridor.

"If it's just that I kinda look like him and that's why, then you should just go with him to school. Go get hitched for all I care!" he said as he waved his hand in the air.

Sakura watched him walk off with an angry expression on her face, "...FINE! I WILL!" she shouted out. He stopped and turned to look at her with a shocked face but she had already taken off in the other direction.

Itachi watched her quickly disappear as she turned the corner. She was heading to Sasuke's room. _"Is she really serious?"_

He put his hands into his pocket and turned around to walk to his room. _"Fine. Do whatever you want."_

**Sigh more problems. Sorry this chapter's so short guys. I'm currently in a Japanese Drama phase! XD**


	11. Chapter 11 A trip to Sakura's House!

**Okay guys I was thinking about my story while I was at the hairdresser today so here's another chapter! :D**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 11

_**Narrator:**_..._poor little cherry blossom trapped in the Uchiha storm...if you travel towards the eye you will find rest dear cherry blossom..._

The two children stomped off in opposite directions: Itachi to his room, Sakura...

Sakura got lost, again.

She originally planned to go to Sasuke's room but when she remembered this morning's events, she realized that the current mood she was in wasn't good for that situation. And so she took a turn somewhere along the journey, and got lost.

Eventually she made it to a large double door and on opening it, discovered she had wandered back to the entrance of the mansion, again.

"Is this a sign that I'm supposed to leave this place?" she thought aloud and sighed as she walked down the large staircase and on to the roundabout Mrs. Uchiha's limousine had driven on to drop her off.

She looked to her right and saw a very, VERY large garden. It looked like a plantation of flowers. There were a variety of flowers and the ground looked like a rainbow. The bright colours made her feel a little better, and so she decided to go explore the vast meadow of flora.

_**[ITACHI'S ROOM]**_

Itachi laid on his bed and looked at the ceiling. Right now he wasn't happy. In fact, he hated himself. He had successful won against Sasuke at breakfast, but, as soon as he did, he lost her right away by opening his mouth. He closed his eyes and sighed loudly.

_"Geez Sakura. Why couldn't you just say something like I only blush when you touch me because I like you..."_

He suddenly sprang up into a sitting position on his bed. "Where did THAT come from?" he thought aloud. He sighed again and looked up at the mirror in front of him, remembering the picture Sakura took on her phone.

_"Come to think of it, that girl doesn't even have a clean uniform to wear to school today. I bet she hasn't even thought about it. She's probably hanging out with Sasuke right now."_

He slammed a fist against his thigh.

_"She's so clueless sometimes!"_

He got up and left his room, his hands in his pockets. He soon reached the entrance to the mansion and gazed out at the island of land in the middle of the roundabout. He looked to the right and gazed out towards the high blue mountains behind the garden, then gradually looked down at the flowers. He thought he saw something pink among the green hedges that formed a circle a good distance from where he was, but assumed it was just a blowing flower.

He walked down the stairs and across the roundabout, deliberately stepping on the grass of the island when there was a clear KEEP OFF GRASS sign. Casually strolling, he closed his eyes and stopped walking, allowing the wind to blow his hair back.

He then opened his eyes after another sigh and continued walking towards his limo. His driver saw him walking towards the vehicle a good distance away and so met him as the boy reached.

"Young master, where would you like to go?" the driver asked politely as he opened the door for the young man.

Itachi sighed again, "I don't know why I'm even doing this but, take me to that streetlight from the first day."

"Right away." the driver said before closing the door for him and running around to the driver's seat. The limo pulled out of its parking spot and drove out of the estate. On hearing an engine Sakura looked up and caught a glimpse of a white limo leaving the residence. She shrugged and went back to examining flowers she had never seen before.

After a short journey, the limo arrived at the street light. The driver came around to open the door for Itachi and the boy got out of the vehicle.

"Please wait here. I won't be long." Itachi said the driver who nodded and drove off to turn the vehicle around. He walked along the sidewalk, looking at the houses and trying to see if he could find any one that showed Sakura lived there. Unfortunately, all the houses on the street had the same design: some only differed in colour roofs.

He looked up and decided to count the number of streetlights on the road to pinpoint the spot where he saw her kneeling down. He walked and stood under the one he thought was right and looked at the two houses on either side of the light. He decided to take the one on the right.

Walking up the small path he knocked on the door twice and waited. After awhile he knocked again and a coarse voice rang out,

"I'm coming I'm coming! Hold on man!"

From the voice Itachi's face changed to one of concern. The door opened violently and a large woman stepped out so heavily the entire wooden veranda creaked.

"WHAT IS I-oh hello there young man." The woman said. She started out very angrily but said the last part sweetly. It made Itachi cringe when he saw her. The woman was fat and was wearing a very bright pink dress with white Polk a dots on it. Her fat folds could be seen as the dress was very tight on her. There were also food stains on her dress and a black mole on her nose.

When she saw Itachi she began to fix her hair and smooth out her dress. He tried really hard not to show any disgust on his face. Looking away he asked, "Um, does a Haruno Sakura live here?"

The woman suddenly stopped trying to look appealing, "Sakura? That despicable child? She doesn't live here. She lives next door over there." the woman said pointing to the house on the left.

"But why would you want to see her? Why don't you forget about her and come inside-" the woman flirted, moving aside to let him in but failing because she was still blocking the entire doorway.

Itachi wasn't paying attention to her though. He was too relieved to know that Sakura didn't live with this woman. "Thank you for your information and time!" he shouted out as he sprinted out of the woman's yard and next door to the Haruno residence.

"W-WAIT! YOU KNOW YOU WANT ME! I DON'T MIND THE AGE DIFFERENCE! REALLY!" the woman shouted out as she waved to get his attention, her under arm hair proudly waving in the breeze.

Itachi almost threw up when he heard that. A relationship? With her?

"Who you flirting with now Agnes? Am I not enough fer you?" a male voice called out from inside of the house. The woman turned around and entered the house, slamming the door, "OH SHUT UP I CAN HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH ANY MAN I WANT! YOU CAN'T TELL ME ANYTHING UNTIL YOU GET A JOB AND START EARNING SOME INCOME AGAIN!"

Her voice could still be heard even after she had closed the door. The two voices argued loudly. Itachi glanced at the house of the two quarrellers and whistled.

_"Those people are Sakura's neighbours? I can't imagine living next to those people."_

He turned and to the house the woman directed. He pushed the gate guarding the yard a little and the gate swung open. He paused for a few seconds, wondering if anyone was there, but went ahead.

He knocked on the door but there was no answer. After checking the door knob to find it not locked he opened the door with a creak.

"Um, Hello? Is anyone home?" he asked out into the quiet house as he opened the door slowly. It creaked as it opened. He stepped inside slowly. As he turned around to close the door, he was suddenly pushed into the door, colliding into it with his face.

As he bounced off the door a pair of hands grabbed his and crossed them behind his back. They also pushed him so that he face planted the floor, unable to block. A body sat on top of him.

"Ow! What the hell is going on?" he shouted out. He tried to turn his head to see who did this to him but the person held both of his arms with one hand and kept his head straight with the other. The person leant forward and whispered into his ear.

"Where is my daughter? What have you done with her?"

Itachi's eyes widened. _"Is this...Sakura's mother! Does she think I'm a kidnapper? Well I kinda am but if I tell her I think I just might die..."_

He decided to play victim until he was sure he was safe, but at the same time not lie in case it came back to haunt him...or kill him.

"Please don't hurt me! I'm just a school kid! I go to the same school as Sakura! We're good friends!" he pleaded.

There was silence, and then the hands holding him let go instantly. The person sitting on top of him jumped up and landed in front of him. The woman helped him up,

"Oh my are you alright?" she asked innocently.

Itachi looked up at her with a WTF the face but blinked in shock when he saw a beautiful woman in front of him smiling when she saw he was fine.

"Uh...I..." he tried to start speaking but wasn't sure what to say.

"Oh I know! You must be a good friend that secretly likes her but won't admit it to himself and so gets into arguments with her a lot but on hearing that she was missing you gathered up the courage to look for her and have been searching all night last night just like me right?" the woman said chirpily. Itachi only stared at her.

_"How...how did she just come up with that on the spot? I...I don't even know if that's right myself she said it so quickly..."_

Quickly composing himself he got up into a kneeling position and offered his hand.

"I am Uchiha Itachi, one of Sakura's classmates. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The woman took it and shook it with both hands, "I am Sakura's mother. The pleasure of meeting such a cutie like you is all mine~" she said smiling.

The boy smiled even though he was sweat dropping. "Would you like some tea?" the woman asked as she got up and walked into the kitchen which was the first left turn from the very short hallway in front of the door.

"Um, sure...?" Itachi said getting up and following the woman into the kitchen. He looked around the kitchen on entering it and smiled at the warmth of the room. The woman offered him a seat on one of the stools at the counter in the centre of the room and he took it with a thank you.

While the mother fixed the tea he looked to the fridge and smiled. On it were three pictures: one of Sakura when she was very small, one of the mother and a man he assumed was her husband, and the last one of all three characters smiling together, Sakura on the man's shoulders.

"So, what brings you here from your rich mansion to my humble abode?" the woman asked as she placed a small cup in front of him. The boy stared at the cup for a few seconds, _"I can't believe I forgot...!"_

He suddenly took a breath while looking up, a sign he remembered.

"Sakura isn't missing. She was injured yesterday at school and since she was unconscious I decided to take her to my house. I came here today to ask you for one of her uniforms as school starts at 12 today." Itachi explained, feeling a lot better after letting out the truth.

"Oh~?" the mother said teasingly.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"So _you're_ the guy..." she said as she crossed her hands over her chest and leant against one of the surrounding counters so that she faced him.

"What? What guy?" Itachi asked, even more confused.

"Oh nothing~ I'm pretty sure Sakura would kill me if I jumped to conclusions and started telling you things." the woman said as she walked to the door.

"I'm sorry but I'm not following you..." the boy said, completely lost.

"Don't worry about! Just drink your tea I'll get Sakura's uniform." the woman said as she walked upstairs.

Itachi stared at the cup in front of him, trying to figure out what the woman meant. He took up the cup and sipped the tea.

_"Guy? What guy? I'm just me. There's nothing special about me concerning Sakura...is there?"_

The mother returned shortly after with a uniform. She placed it on the stool beside him, "You're the guy that made her cry on the first day..." the mother said softly as she fixed the shirt on the stool.

Itachi choked on his tea. He put the cup down while he coughed, then turned to the woman beside him, "What? She was crying that time!" he asked the woman. She didn't answer him. Instead she shocked him by waving two panties in front of his face.

"Which one do you think would fit Sakura-chan better Itachi?" the mother said, dangling the two items very close to his face.

Itachi almost fell off the stool. He stood up and stepped back, "W-why are you asking me how should I know!"

The mother pouted as she held the two pieces in front of her. She lifted one as she talked about it, "Sakura-chan usually wears these frilly ones...but don't you think she should be wearing lace now? I mean she's getting older and she doesn't really have that much sex appeal, so she's gonna need all the help she can get!" the woman said to herself.

"That's for sure..." Itachi muttered to himself as he looked away from the floating underwear.

"Ehh~? So that's the kind of man you are Itachi~" the mother said as she placed the black lace panty in the skirt pocket of the uniform and put away the frilly one.

"W-what! No! It's not like that!"

"You're getting so worked up it's so cute!" the mother giggled.

"But why didn't Sakura-chan come with you to get a uniform? Or have you drop her off? Doesn't she miss me?" the mother asked as she took Itachi's cup to wash it.

"Ah well, that's...uh, she doesn't really know I'm here. We're not really on good terms right now but I know she's probably forgotten about needing a uniform for school with all that's happened so I'm doing the clueless girl a favour." Itachi said, trying to sound weary of the girl.

The mother only giggled again, "Lover's quarrel huh?" she smiled like a fox.

"No way! Not like that'd ever happen. According to my family she's Sasuke's future wife..." Itachi said as he looked out the window.

"Oh the younger sibling that's setting such high expectations for himself?" Sakura's mother said while she scrubbed the cup.

"Yup." Itachi said and then sighed, not even finding it odd that the woman next to him was right on target without him telling her.

As he sighed the mother stopped to look at him. She then smiled and put down the cup, "Itachi..."

The boy looked to her.

"I don't know about this Sasuke kid..." she looked up from the cup, "...but I want **you** take care of Sakura for me, okay?"

Itachi stared at the woman in front of him. "Wh-why ask me that...all of a sudde-" he started but stopped when the woman flung something at him and it landed on his face. He took the item off his face and looked at it. He jumped and quickly put the item on top of the uniform and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Don't you think a bra like that would match well with the 'lower piece' ?" the mother smiled. Itachi looked up at the ceiling and took a breath. Sakura's mom laughed.

"I'm sorry Itachi-kun! But you're just so easy to play with! And you're expressions are so cute!" the mother twirled with her hands on her face in chibi form.

Itachi sweat dropped. "Well I better get going." he said and paused to fold the bra within the shirt before picking up the entire outfit and walking to the door.

"Aww~ I'll walk you out!" the mother skipped after him.

As Itachi reached the door and the mother opened it for him he asked, "Oh how did you learn how to do that tackle?"

"Oh that? I'm a secret spy you know! It's one of the first things we learn in the organization." she answered as he walked out of the house. "Of course you are." Itachi sarcastically as he gave her a sceptical look.

"I'm serious! And you can't tell anyone! Not even Sakura-chan knows! Okay?" the mother said with a finger to her lips.

"I'm sure after meeting you they wouldn't believe me...not even Sakura..." Itachi confirmed with a sweat drop.

The mother smiled, "Well, come visit again!" she said happily and closed the door rather abruptly for such a jovial character. Itachi turned and left the yard, pulling up the gate with his foot. He strolled to his limo as he scanned the area around him.

_"Well at least Sakura's mom is pretty and nice and not like that scary woman. The house is small but it's homely I guess."_

His driver opened the door for him to enter and as he put the clothes in he heard a voice shouting out,

"WHERE YA GOING HONEY? LET'S GO TOGETHER!"

he turned around sharply because he knew that voice but instantly regretted his action. He saw the neighbour woman in a two swim suit and a _thank god_ a circular floatie around her waist hiding her fat folds. She was also wearing sandals and was trying her best to run towards him.

He quickly threw the clothes in the limo and jumped in. "GO! GO! GO! NOW!' he shouted as he slammed the door closed. The driver gulped on seeing the woman and dashed around to his seat.

The woman, however, had was very unfit [no duh] and ran out of air quickly. She paused in front of Sakura's house to rest against the gate.

The limo quickly sped off.

"MY HONEY~!" the woman called out.

**TADAA! A FUNNY CHAPTER! :P**

**Please review! I'll try to put up another before this day is over.**


	12. Chapter 12 Back to School

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 12

_**The narration is the same since I'm doing these chapters one after the other.**_

Itachi sighed in relief as he slumped in his chair in the limo.

_"Crazy woman. I may never visit Sakura at her own home because of her..."_

As the limo entered the Uchiha residence Itachi turned to look out at the garden and this time clearly saw Sakura running around in between the bundles of flowers. he was a little shocked to see her there as he was just thinking about her but he began to smile as he saw her chasing a butterfly.

_"How old does she think she is? Five?"_

The limo stopped in front of the large stairs to let Itachi off. As soon as the boy exited the vehicle the driver closed his door for him and drove the limo off to its previous parking spot.

Itachi walked towards the pink-haired girl with the clothes in his hands.

"Sakura!" he called out and she turned around to look at him with a smile still on her face from chasing the butterfly.

For some reason, Itachi saw Sakura turn around in slow motion like in those shoujo animes with all the sparkles and stuff around her and felt his heart thump a bit faster.

He blinked twice and the sparkles and slow motion disappeared. Sakura ran up to him in Sasuke's baggy clothes.

_"What was that?"_ he thought to himself. "What's up?" Sakura asked innocently, forgetting her anger at Itachi.

The boy looked her startled. He expected the girl to be holding a grudge against him for what he said to her earlier, which he was internally regretting, but the girl looked like she was the happiest person in the world.

"I went to your house and got a clean uniform from your mom." he said holding the folded clothes to her.

"Thank you!" Sakura glomped the boy, which shocked him even more. However Itachi froze in Sakura's embrace.

"Uh, Sakura...are you..." Itachi tried to speak but seemed to be having trouble.

Sakura suddenly remembered that she wasn't wearing anything under Sasuke's shirt and jumped off the boy.

"Oh no I uh- I can't I just- ah! You're such a perv!" was the sentence she managed to say.

"ME!" Itachi couldn't believe his ears, "YOU'RE the one who jumped on me!"

Sakura's face was pink, "Well that's-!"

"Just say thank you and take the clothes I don't want to get into another stupid argument with you!" Itachi interrupted her.

Sakura stopped and looked at him. He was holding the clothes out to her with one hand and the rest of his body was facing the garden. He was watching the flowers on his right so that he wasn't looking at her.

His cheeks were also tickled pink. _"Why do I feel like this right now? I've never felt this way to any girl before...and I just know it has something to do with her mom."_

Sakura was shocked at his sudden outburst, but, he was right. And she didn't want to be in another argument with him as well. She grabbed the clothes and held them close to her chest.

Sakura turned to face the flowers as well, "Thank you...Itachi..." she mumbled.

"What?" Itachi asked, still looking out.

"Thank you." she said a little loudly.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU." Itachi said again.

"I SAID THANK YOU!" she shouted out, her face angry but her anger disappeared when she saw he was grinning at her.

"Your welcome." he said with a grin and she turned her head back to the flowers to avoid him seeing her blush.

"Did my mother trouble you while you were there...?" Sakura asked distantly as she gazed outwards.

Itachi took a few seconds to answer, "No...but your neighbour did."

"What? You talked to that crazy woman!" Sakura looked at him, her face a mess of emotions.

Itachi still looked out as he answered, "Yeah I had to choose between two houses and unfortunately, I picked that one first. So now I'm apparently her 'honey' that she wants to have and affair with..." Itachi said the last part a bit quietly but Sakura heard it loud and clear.

The pink haired girl moved the clothes down so she could hold her stomach as she guffawed loudly. Itachi turned to her,

"Hey it's not funny!" he flared.

"Oh on the contrary, it's actually very sad!" Sakura said in between her laughter.

Itachi's clenched his fists and glared at the girl, who was too busy laughing to notice, as he tried to think of a come back. When he thought of one he smirked and crossed his hands over his chest.

"You know what else is sad? You guys have similar taste in terms of a certain piece of clothing."

Sakura stopped laughing instantly and looked up at him, "What are you talking about that's not possible." she asked with a serious expression on her face.

Itachi was surprised at her reaction but this only made his smirk grow more. He turned to walk towards the mansion, "If you check your uniform you'll see. It was quite an unfortunate site for me, but I'm sure you'd look way better in it." he said as he put his hands in his pockets and walked casually.

He counted to three then stopped walking and turned to look at her. Sakura unfolded the shirt at the top of the bundle and stiffened when she saw the black lace bra with white bow in the middle laying comfortably on the lower part of the shirt.

Her cheeks turned red but when she looked up at Itachi's smirking face, her gaped pink face turned beet red and she quickly folded the clothes back up,

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAW MY UNDERWEAR WHAT THE HELL YOU REALLY ARE A PERVERT!" she shouted and ran after him.

He jogged away with a grin on his face, "But your mother showed me! She said you'd look very nice in them too!" he joked.

He stopped jogging when he didn't hear her footsteps and turned around to see the pink-haired girl engulfed in flame. Her face was covered in shadow.

"That woman..." Sakura growled.

Itachi gulped, "Well since you're going with Sasuke I'll see you at school then bye Sakura I'll be heading in first!" he shouted out as he sprinted inside the mansion.

When he reached his room he sighed with relief. _"Whew I'm safe. I felt the same way when her mother whispered in my ear. They really are related."_ he thought with a sweat drop. He leaned off the door and walked to his bathroom to take a bath.

After Itachi ran inside the flames disappeared and Sakura looked at the clothes in her hand and sighed. She then walked inside the mansion as well. _"So that woman finally got me to wear these...she must've been ecstatic when she thought of it."_

Neither of the two noticed the curtains of Sasuke's room move open and closed during their conversation.

It was now 10:30 AM. School was in an hour and a half.

Sakura had, with the help of a maid that was supporting ItaSaku and not SasuSaku, found an empty guest room and decided to get ready in there. She already had her clothes and each room was equipped with male and female deodorants as well as lotion. She made sure to lock the door before she went into the bathroom and even then, carried her clothes and some of the items provided with her into the bathroom so she could change in there.

The bathroom was equipped with a clean toothbrush still in its package and a tube of toothpaste. In the tub was a set of clean towels and a small rag, as well a shampoo, conditioner, liquid soap, and bar soap. Sakura decided to make use of everything, since she didn't know when she'd ever take a trip to such a hotel again.

She exited the bathroom, already in her uniform, cautiously. When she verified that no one was there she entered the room and put back the lotion etc. where she had found them.

Using the comb and brush provided, she combed her hair in the mirror. She looked at herself at different angles in the mirror to make sure she was good to go.

_"The lace makes me feel like I'm wearing less somehow, but, I also feel more confident for some reason."_ Sakura thought as she untwisted on of the straps.

"There! Now all I need is my glasses and I'm ready." she said to the mirror. She picked up Sasuke's clothes and walked out of the room only to be startled by a smiling maid waiting at the door.

"I'll take those Miss." the maid said and Sakura unconsciously handed over the clothes to the woman. The maid took them and put them into the basket connected to her trolley. She then put her hands on the bar of the trolley and pushed it down the hallway.

Sakura watched the woman walk down the corridor, then looked at the floor, _"Wait. I'm forgetting something aren't I?_"

She gasped when she remembered. Her underwear was among Sasuke's clothes in the trolley. She looked back up but the maid was gone and she could've gone three different ways because there was an intersection further down the corridor.

"...! NOOOOO!" Sakura shouted out as she ran down the corridor. As she reached the intersection she stopped and looked left and right. The right path was empty but a butler was walking down the left path.

"Excuse me sir!" Sakura shouted out as she ran up to the man. He was startled at the sudden shout but quickly returned back to his polite face, "What can I do for you Miss?" he asked politely with a warm smile he was taught to use at all times.

"Did a maid pass you on your way here?" Sakura asked eagerly as she jumped on the spot slightly.

"I have passed many maids on my way here miss." he answered robotically with the same warm smile.

"No I meant along thi- oh forget it." Sakura brushed him off rudely and turned around going back to the intersection, thinking the butler reminded her of Hinata. She continued straight since the main path was pretty long and she was sure she would've still seen the maid if she didn't turn.

She ran along the path and it took many turns. Eventually the walls changed from clean white to a pale grey and then a darker, duller grey. She didn't realize until she stopped running.

She stopped because there was traffic consisting of maids and butlers going in all directions. Many had trolleys: some with baskets and some without. Sakura knew she wouldn't be able to find that one maid who just happened to be at her door when she opened it among the millions walking around in this wing.

She sighed and turned around to head back. When she made it back the butler she had talked to previously was standing there with the same smile that was starting to look plastic.

"There you are Miss." he said trying to sound like he had emotion in his voice but failing, "You ran off earlier so I didn't have a chance to tell you. Lunch is being served in the dining hall if you would like to eat something now." he informed her.

"Is that so...?" Sakura asked cautiously. She was pretty sure this guy was related to Hinata somehow, even if he didn't have eyes like hers they were still glassy. "Well I'm not very hungry right now so I think I'll just have lunch at schoo-" Sakura said as she walked past him but when she turned her head to face forward the butler was standing in front of her again, still smiling.

"There is a packed lunch for you in case you are not hungry. Please allow me to accompany you to retrieve it. After you have received your lunch I will escort you to Young Master's limousine." the man said, ending with his plastic smile.

Sakura, feeling a little scared with the man, asked, "Will there be other people there?"

The butler thought about it [of course he was still smiling so Sakura was wondering if she was supposed to put a coin in somewhere] then replied, "There will be other maids present there as well yes." he said, still smiling.

"Okay let's go then! This way right?" Sakura asked quickly. The butler nodded and Sakura sprinted off without any further questions. As she ran she looked back and saw he was out of sight. She sighed with relief but as she reached the end of the hallway the same butler stood holding the door to the dining hall open for her, a smile still present.

Sakura tried her best to return his smile but as soon as she walked past him her face showed she was exhausted.

"What's wrong? The lace was giving you problems?" a voice said and snickered after. Sakura's head shot up but when she saw Itachi was only joking she decided to let it slide. Before she could respond as well a maid approached her with a small container.

"Here is your lunch Miss." the maid said with a smile that was less scary. Sakura looked at the door but the butler was gone. Shivers went down her spine but she looked at the maid and accepted the lunch.

"Thank you, wait!" Sakura suddenly said and the two boys at the table looked up at her.

"Yes Miss?" the maid asked, her face innocent.

"You're the maid from before!" the girl said pointing at the maid as if there were other maids in the room.

The maid stared at her in confusion, "Many of the maids look alike as we are chosen based on a certain appearance. I think you are mistaken Miss." the maid said smiling.

"No I'm sure it was you! You're the one I gave the clothes to! Listen I need to get those back-"

"I'm sorry Miss but those clothes have already been sent to be cleaned." the maid replied robotically.

"You admit it! You're the ones I gave the clothes to!" Sakura jumped on the spot.

The maid took a few seconds to reply just like the butler before. Her face was still smiling as well, "I'm sorry Miss but you are mistaking me for someone else. Please enjoy your lunch." the maid said and bowed before taking her leave.

Sakura just followed the maid with her finger, speechless. She then sighed and took a seat, "I'm was sure it was her..." she mumbled.

"What's the matter? Gave them your underwear? Not like you were wearing any anyways..." Itachi said inattentively as he ate his meal. Itachi stopped eating after a while and looked at her since she didn't respond. She was looking at the container in her lap and playing with the latch keeping the box closed.

"The design on this box is very nice isn't it..." Sakura said softly, avoiding the question.

Itachi stared at her, "Seriously!" he asked, his face slowly turning into an expression of hysteria.

"Shut up!" Sakura shouted out and tried to focus on the latch.

Itachi laughed loudly. Sakura squinted her eyes together in an attempt to ignore him but it wasn't working. He calmed down to make another comment, "Well at least it wasn't the lace ones!" he said before laughing again louder.

Sakura clenched her hands into fists and turned to make a remark when Sasuke cleared his throat loudly, creating a silence in the room.

"I'm finished." he declared as he put his cutlery together. Itachi gave a oh-really-I-would've-never-guessed look. The younger Uchiha stood up, "Sakura, please make your way to limousine outside. I'll only be a moment."

"...! Right." Sakura replied and stood up as well. "Oh my things-"

"Have been transferred to the limousine Miss." a voice said and Sakura jumped. She turned her head slowly to the door to see the previous butler holding it open for her and still smiling.

Gathering the courage to smile and not run away like a crazy child, Sakura walked through the door and was led to the limo. "S-See you at school Itachi." she said as she left the room stiffly.

When he was the only person in the room, Itachi sighed and slumped in his chair.

"Are you finished Young Master?" a maid asked. He waved his hand in the air and the maid took the plate and cup away, bowing before she left.

He got up shortly after and left the room. As he entered his room he looked across to the guest room Sakura had entered last night.

_"Did she really sleep walk all the way to Sasuke's room? When she didn't even know where it was and could've easily come to my room?"_

He entered his room and picked up his bag. Before he left the room he changed the desktop background of his computer to the picture he took from Sakura's phone. When he looked at it he smiled.

"Well, time for school!" he said to himself as he turned off the monitor and the computer and left the room.

_**[AT SCHOOL]**_

The atmosphere inside the limousine was tense. Sakura was freaking out in her mind, mainly because Sasuke was leaning against the door so he could face her. She played with the latch while she tried to ignore him, her cheeks pink.

"You seem to like that latch. I can give you the container if you'd like, it'd be a fair trade." he said and Sakura looked up to see his smirk. At first she was confused, but then she remembered that he was present at the table as well during lunch and so knew about the 'thing' she left behind in his house.

Her face lit up and she looked back to the container in her lap, "Oh now I couldn't possibly accept something like this. It looks expensive!" Sakura said nervously.

"Not really. Just 1 million. Came from a wealthy Indian family as a gift." Sasuke said as he looked out of the window at the school approaching. He adjusted himself in his seat as they neared.

"One-one million!" Sakura repeated and Sasuke nodded his head, unamused at her enthusiasm.

The limo pulled to a stop and the conversation died. The driver came around and opened Sasuke's door. Sasuke exited the vehicle and walked around opening Sakura's door.

He held out his hand to her. Sakura was shocked and hesitated, but took his hand. He gracefully helped her out of the car. The driver handed her school bag to her and she thanked him happily.

"OMG WHAT IS THAT WENCH DOING COMING OUT OF MY SASUKE-KUN'S LIMO AND HOLDING MY SASUKE-KUN'S HAND!" a voice shrilled loudly. Sakura squinted at the loud sound.

The two children looked to see an angry Karin standing with her feet apart and pointing an accusing finger at the pink-haired girl.

"I gave her a ride." Sasuke answered, "It's the least I could do since she got hurt on my account." he said as he sent a cold look her way. Her groupies behind her shivered and Karin herself fell silent.

"That's a nice bracelet Karin. I remember giving Sakura one similar to it." Sasuke said, changing the topic.

Karin blushed at the compliment and started flaunting the item on her hand, "Really? Well you know, this is actually the same one you gave her. But that girl said that she didn't like you so I asked her for it and she agreed." the girl said ending with a wicked smile.

Sakura turned to Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun I-" but he stopped her by putting his other hand on top of hers so that he held her hand with both of his, "It's okay Sakura. Feelings change don't they?" he said with a charmingly smile that made the groupies melt and Karin feel faint.

Sakura was speechless and also action less because she was lost in his eyes. As Itachi exited his car he saw a few puddles [groupies] on the ground around a Karin that was giving off hearts and lastly, for some reason, sparkles around Sasuke and Sakura.

"Looks like you've been paying attention to me after all Sasuke-_kun!"_ Itachi shouted out as he avoided the puddles and walked on the sidewalk.

"But if you guys stand there all day you'll be late for school!" he said, purposely taking Sakura's other hand and breaking the trance placed on her. When she blinked she saw Sasuke's dull glare towards Itachi and almost laughed at the sudden change in expression but didn't get the chance as Itachi dragged her away and entered the school.

"I-Itachi stop walking so fast!" Sakura called out.

"Oh sorry. Just making sure we're a good distance from that magician before I start strolling."

"Magician?"

"Didn't you see what he did? He turned those girls into puddles!"

Sakura only laughed as she walked beside him. "Oh sorry!" she said and let got of his hand.

"Hmm? Oh right..." Itachi said as he put his now empty hand into his pocket.

"Well now there's only one hour till Math!" Itachi said happily as he walked down the long pathway.

"And why are you so happy about that? You suck at Math." Sakura asked looking at him.

"Yeah, but I'm happy because I get to spend that class time with you!" he said grinning at her, making her blush.

"And I can always cheat off of you anyways!" he said before running off towards the building.

"WHAT! LIKE I'LL LET YOU!" Sakura shouted out as she chased after him.

FAR, far behind, Sasuke strolled in casually. His face, however, held a deadly glare as he watched his brother being chased by Sakura into the building.

Of course he was ignoring the squealing girls everywhere and the Karin clinging onto his arm.

Class went by quite smoothly: Sakura learning from before that Sasuke wasn't one to show emotion in public but wouldn't turn her down in private. She thought that a relationship with him might not be so bad after all.

When it was time for Math II and Sakura entered the class she was greeted loudly as usual. Running up to her seat and dodging Hidan's foot to trip her, she greeted Itachi.

"Hey I thought I told you not to wear your glasses!" Itachi scolded.

"No you didn't you just said I look better without them." Sakura recollected.

"It's the same thing!"

"No it isn't!"

"Shut up I actually came early for once! There's work on the board you know." Kakashi said as he took out a book at his desk.

Sakura and Itachi looked at him them at each other and started laughing. The rest of the class followed suit and went back to talking.

Sakura took out her book and copied off the notes while talking to Itachi.

_"Sasuke-kun as a boyfriend, and Itachi as my best friend. Who'd have thought I'd ever have a life like this! But...I think I like it!"_ Sakura thought as she wrote the equations and worded problems off the board.

Kakashi looked up from his book at the two at the back, then back to the pages in front of him. He had also seen the scene earlier that...midday [lol].

_"Looks like everything's going according to plan." _he thought as he turned a page.

**WHAT'S THIS! IT'S A SASUSAKU STORY NOW? But the pairing says ItaSaku...the drama starts now! Stay tuned for the next chapter! XD**

**Okay guys no chapter for the weekend you got two chapters in the same day so be grateful! AND PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	13. Chapter 13 Suigetsu's in it too?

**OKAY GUYS! Well, since so much has happened these past chapters and if you actually count it...well, all this actually only happened over the course of three school days...that's not possible in real life is it? I don't think so...I hope not...I'd feel sorry for the Sakura and Itachi *cough*even though it's my fault*cough***

**SO ANYWAYS...I'm going to space things out a bit.**

_we all didn't forget that thoughts are in italics right? Sometimes I get lazy so I don't put in the [insert name] thought as..._

_but I only do it when there's only two people talking and it's obvious...right?_

**Anyways enjoy the next chapter! Chapter Rox-I mean 13!**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 13

_**Narrator**__**:**_ _...the falling snow calms down the storm and allows the cherry blossom to enjoy its journey a little more..._

The days went by like this. Sakura would go to school and be greeted by Itachi, unable to find Sasuke. Then, as the day went by, she would end up in a situation where she would be seduced by the younger Uchiha and rescued in the nick of time by the elder sibling.

Sakura was unaware that any of this had hidden motives behind it, and was quite happy with her current life: after all, she wasn't being picked on at all anymore.

However, the two Uchihas had other thoughts.

It was lunch time and Sasuke was sitting at his 'popular' table, along with Karin, Naruto and...someone else?

"Hey, hey Sasuke-chan~, you should start wearing hair clips in your hair I'm sure you'd look so nice in them." the new person said and cackled loudly after. Naruto looked up at Sasuke and on imagining the hair clips along with Sasuke's current glare he too burst out laughing.

Karin's face puffed up, "Shut up Suigetsu MY Sasuke-kun would never do something so degrading to himself! And how DARE you call MY Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-ch..." she trailed off and looked at him, but he was ignoring everyone for his lunch.

The boy called Suigetsu responded, "Oh come on Karin don't be jealous because of our love~," he said flashing a grin at the Uchiha who simply shook his head before taking a bite of his sandwich. The boy turned back to Karin, "Plus, everyone knows that ALL the girls would go crazy over it."

Karin was about to shout out at him again but she paused to look at Sasuke, trying to imagine hair clips holding back his bangs. Her face immediately lit up and she went back to her food, "It's not like he would do that anyways..." she muttered as she pushed some food onto her fork and took a bite.

Suigetsu, on noticing the positive reaction, continued, "Just think, sparkly red hearts and rainbows on the hairclips, or even a unicorn head band! A pink one!" he said a leaned back in the chair after looking at Sasuke's face and adding the accessories. Karin's face became redder and she brought a hand to her mouth to stop food from flying out as she choked.

Naruto, on the other hand, had stopped laughing at the mention of pink, because it reminded him of Sakura and the question he wanted to ask the younger Uchiha.

"Sasuke." he said in a serious voice and said boy looked to him. Naruto never left off the suffix unless he was serious.

"I hear you're close to Sakura-chan now...you like her?" the blonde asked with a serious face. Suigetsu almost choked on his soda and Karin jumped up and grabbed Naruto's neck, attempting to strangle him.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH A THING ABOUT MY SASUKE-KUN HE WOULD NEVER LIKE SUCH A GIRL ESPECIALLY WHEN HE HAS ME!" she shouted out as she strangled the poor child.

"GE-GET OFF! I JU-JUS AKSHD A QUEST-!" Naruto managed to say as she pried the girl off him. Suigetsu eventually helped the orange jumpsuit man when he saw that Naruto was really in trouble.

When Karin was beginning to lose she looked around to see that some people were staring at her and lip read one saying weirdo so she let go quickly and sat down in her seat.

"Geez Karin what the hell?" Naruto said as he rubbed his neck to ease the pain. Karin remained quietly. Sasuke had a small smile on his face and when Naruto noticed he opened his mouth again, "OMG SASUKE-TEME YOU'RE SMILING DO YOU REALLY LI-" but stopped because he fell off his chair while he was flinching. He flinched because as he talked Karin lunged for him again and hell fell back while dodging.

He got up and picked up his tray, "I'll uh talk to you later teme!" he shouted out and quickly ran off, scared after another flinch.

After he had left Karin quieted back down and turned in her chair to face Sasuke.

"It isn't true...is it?" she asked softly as she played with the napkin under his glass. The Uchiha smirked, "Jealous?"

"N-no of course not! I just..." she sputtered but trailed off when he spoke up, "That bracelet looks better on you..." he said quietly and Karin blushed. Suigetsu noticed her reaction.

"Avoiding the question Sasuke-kun..." the boy said, an unpleasant expression on his face.

The Uchiha sighed. Suigetsu wouldn't let him escape. "Don't worry Karin. You'd have a better chance than Sakura..." he began to say but trailed off. That was all Karin needed to hear though. She shifted back in her chair and happily went back to eating her food.

However her smile soon faded when she saw another fork enter her plate, scoop up some food, and go into Suigetsu's mouth.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Suigetsu!"

"What? I just wanted to try it. Besides, I think Sakura-chan would look better with Sasuke-kun than you." he said as he took another bite of the girl's food.

A vein popped on Karin's forehead, "And why don't I look better with MY Sasuke-kun than **her?**" the girl asked, getting angrier and angrier but holding it in until the boy gave his reason.

"Because you look better with me! Duh." Suigetsu replied like it was nothing as he reached for another bite. Noticing no hits or shouting he paused to look up at the people sitting across from him.

Karin was gaping and even Sasuke's eyebrows were raised.

"What? You didn't know? Well I guessed as much. You're so head over heels for that rich snob you'd never realize anything unless I told you directly." he ate the food on his fork.

There was still an awkward silence as Suigetsu munched on his bite. Eventually Karin learnt how to speak, "W-what did you just say?" a hint of anger was in her voice.

Sasuke got up, "I'm heading to class early." he said, noticing the atmosphere of tension.

"Don't worry Karin-chan~," he said grinning, "I'll prove it to you. You'll see. I'm a better choice for you." he stretched his fork across the table again for another bite but brought back his hand to narrowly dodge Karin's that stabbed the poor piece of chicken on her plate.

"You say that that big fore headed girl would suit MY Sasuke-kun better than I would, and you have the audacity to think I would EVER be YOUR girlfriend? HA! Don't make me laugh! Are you on something Suigetsu!" Karin said loudly, her face looking like she was going to go crazy and kill him, Joker style.

Suigetsu was however unfazed, "There you go again with MY Sasuke-kun. Since when was he yours? It's just because your the wealthiest female here and you could easily destroy the lives of any other student why those girls leave you alone. Sasuke himself has never even agreed to being your boyfriend, he just tolerates you. I'd be way better."

He looked up from his plate to see Karin's face and decided it would be best to leave it at that for now. "Oh you're food's getting cold. I'll see you at class, honey~." he teased and dodged a flying fork as he left the cafeteria.

Karin huffed in her chair and was about to eat the rest of her food when she realized she had thrown her fork at Suigetsu and was now forkless. She was too angry to go to the serving lady for another one though. People were also staring at her for throwing a fork at someone. With a shriek of "ugh!" she stood up dramatically, picked up her bag, and left the cafeteria as well.

**A/N: so guys, I'm going write this story from another perspective for the rest of the chapter: Sakura is now NOT the main female character, Karin is, but don't worry, it's only one chapter. Ha you thought the chapter was done didn't you? XD**

_**[IN CLASS]**_

"Okay guys I don't have enough papers so you have to share. Everyone join your desks together."

Karin immediately pushed her desk closer to Sasuke but the teacher told her to share with Suigetsu and Sasuke to share with Sakura, who blushed as the smirking Uchiha neared.

The red-head huffed and slammed her desk against Suigetsu's, almost crushing his finger that leaned over the edge. She flopped into her seat and crossed her arms. The boy grinned beside her, "Let's get to work shall we?"

Karin hmphed and turned her head, sighing sadly as she looked at Sasuke sitting far away from her, then getting angry as her eyes went to Sakura sitting beside him.

"Look at her! She thinks she's on top of the world doesn't she!" Karin complained as she sent eye daggers to the pink-haired girl. Suigetsu sighed, "You're no different when you're clinging to his arm..." he commented.

"What was that!" Karin snapped and Suigetsu looked up to tease her but when he noticed she wasn't even looking at him he realized she wasn't paying him any mind and didn't feel like continuing, "Come on it's not group work you know we're just sharing." he said grumpily.

"Huh? Oh right..." Karin took up her pen and wrote the date. Her ears perked up and her attention was sent to the couple to her right again on hearing something fall to the floor. It was Sakura's ruler. Karin had looked just in time to see both students reach for the ruler, have their hands meet, and withdrawing at the same time.

Sakura apologized, her face pink, and allowed Sasuke to pick it up for her. Unfortunately, Karin couldn't see Sasuke's face expression and this made her even more angry.

"Can you believe that! She's trying so hard to make him like her isn't she? I knew it was a lie! EVERYONE likes MY Sasuke-kun!" Karin whispered shouted as she stared at the two.

"Why don't you forget about them and do the work due in a few minutes?" Suigetsu asked boredly. He didn't really care about Sasuke's love life. Even if the Uchiha had never had one to gossip about in the first place.

"Forget? How can I forget! She touched his hand! And blushed! She's making it so obvious! She tricked me! And she tricked MY Sasuke-kun! He doesn't deserve someone like that!"

Karin was going on and on and even when the teacher announced that there were only a few minutes left before the bell and that he wasn't accepting any late assignments, the girl seemed oblivious. Suigetsu finished just before the teacher said that and looked at Karin's paper.

_"Date, Subject, and...nothing! THAT'S where she is? She'll never finish before the bell! Plus I bet she hasn't even READ the question yet! This girl-! She only cares about Sasuke! And EVERYONE can see the feeling's not mutual."_

Suigetsu looked at the clock above the board in the class, then back to Karin's paper, then up to Karin, and sighed. He then took her paper and put it beside his and began to write on it.

_**[A few minutes later]**_

"Okay time's up! One person from each pair pass up both question paper and answer sheet. No excuses, no extensions." the teacher said strictly.

Karin suddenly snapped out of her angry voodoo signals and looked back at her paper. She had a worried expression on her face because she didn't realize she wasted the entire class venting in a whisper. Her expression then changed to a confused one as she looked at her paper. It had words. More than the date and the subject. That she didn't remember writing. But it was in her hand writing.

Suigetsu grinned, "Pretty good huh? I've been practicing."

But Karin didn't pay him any attention, "I guess I'm good at mutlitasking!" she beamed, then turned to Suigetsu to see him with a WTF face, "You didn't cheat, did you?" she interrogated.

"...Are you frickin' serious?" the boy asked, a slightly angry WTF face now.

"What are you talking about?" Karin asked him, not impressed with his attitude.

Suigetsu sighed, grabbed her paper from her hand, stood up and gave the teacher both papers. The teacher looked at them, then at him, but when he saw the boy's face, he looked back to his partner, who was still glaring at Sakura. He then looked at the boy's face as he watched Karin while packing his things up, and sighed from understanding the situation in one go.

Sasuke offered to take Sakura's paper and the girl accepted happily, her cheeks still pink. As he left she held her cheeks. They were hurting because she couldn't stop smiling.

Karin got up and stormed over to Sakura, "Hey just because you got to share a paper with him doesn't mean your his girlfriend!" the girl exploded. Everyone else in the class turned around to see the argument.

Sakura stood up, mouth open, ready to shout back that she was, but then remembered that it would be best to keep that on the low, and closed her mouth. "Whatever!" she said happily, still in love mode, and took her bag up, practically skipping out of the classroom.

As she left she glanced at Sasuke, who was also looking at her. As their eyes locked she looked away as she turned to leave the classroom. As soon as she left she turned in the hall and held her cheeks as she made another big smile.

Karin scoffed and flashed her before getting her bag, giving it to Suigetsu, and leaving the classroom. However, the lackey didn't follow, "Why don't you ask YOUR Sasuke-kun to carry your bag huh Karin? After all, isn't that what **boyfriends **do?" Suigetsu asked loudly.

The class turned to see Karin's reaction. Her face showed she was startled by the outburst but when she turned around Suigetsu had one of the warmest smiles she'd ever seen. The smile actually made her blush. Of course she wasn't the only one. Many of the girls that noticed squealed and gasped, as Suigetsu was never on the 'so hot' list.

The boy strolled out of the classroom, his bag on his shoulder and hers in his arms. "I'll be waiting by your locker." he said and winked as he passed her. The wink, however, made Karin shiver and on seeing the reaction, the boy cackled as he left the class.

Sasuke smirked as he watched the situation. He too left the classroom after Suigetsu. His movement made Karin jump, as everyone else was a frozen spectator. She quickly composed herself and followed him out like a lost puppy.

As the main stars left the stage, the audience whispered to each other and gossip was transferred, the main starters of the rumours getting everyone's opinions before they started them.

When Karin reached her locker she blushed again at seeing a guy leaning against the lockers with one foot crossed over the other, a hand in his pocket and the index of the other holding her bag by the small strap at the top. Not to mention the smug smirk on his face and the wind that happened to be blowing from nowhere in particular.

But she knew he was just annoying her as usual so she fought past the illusion, walked up, snatched her bag, and went back to her normal life.

"How uncute." Suigetsu commented. Karin whipped her head around to look at him but he had already walked off to avoid a hit from the girl. She went back to her locker and angrily changed books.

_"How dare he embarrass me like that! MY Sasuke-kun is the ONLY one for me! Sakura can't have him!"_

**I'm sorry guys but parents are deciding to be spontaneous now that holiday's almost up [which is ironic because now I'm finally deciding to buckle down and start thinking about what career path I want] so we're going for another weekday trip! I get to play with Dolphins and ride in a helicopter so I feel happy!Please review and wait patiently *runs away from angry mob group and jumps into car***

**me:hurry up we have to go now!**

**mom: do you have your toothbrush-**

**me: yes! let's go!**

**mom: underwear?**

**me: yes! let's go!**

**mom:retainers?**

**me: YES LET'S GO! THEY'RE IN MA MOUTH**

**mom: glasses?**

**me:LETS GO!**

**mom: why are you-**

**me: JUST GO PLEASE!**

***cars drives off* **

***looks back to see small crowd of people with torches and pitchforks***

**me: my readers are scary people...o.o**

**[later on in drive]**

***looks out window and sees farmer with pitchfork***

**me: THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!**

**...Please review guys! Um, I really wanted to write more but I also forgot that today was my little cuzin's birthday and she had the party at my house [I live in my room on my computer so no one felt like walking upstairs to tell me] so...this chapter kinda got cut short...**

**BUT! I'll give u guys a hint of what's to come! [Might not be in the next chapter cuz I hav a tendency of NOT reaching stuff I REALLY want to write...ANYWAYS! In the near future chapters there will be a CHRISTMAS SPECIAL AND IT WILL BE ITASAKU RELATED XDDDDDDDDD**

**...hopefully you will read it before Christmas D pLeAsE rEvIeW!  
**


	14. Chapter 14 Friendship Broken

**I'm back! Terrified of those pitch forkers and torchers I snuck into my house through the back way and immediately started typing. Hope you enjoy!**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 14

_**Narrator: **__...the storm appears to be getting worse, but the cherry blossom doesn't seem notice the tears in its petals..._

And so school went on for a couple of days [speed things up a bit. Don't worry there was no fluff].

As school ended and Sakura and Itachi left Math II class together and continued their conversation from class. As they exited the building Sakura stopped walking to swing her bag around and open it,

"Itachi," she said as she rummaged through her things.

"Hmm?" he replied while turning around, wondering why she stopped.

"Are you busy now?' she asked, going through her books one by one with her fingers.

The latter blushed momentarily but it quickly disappeared, _"What was that? Getting my hopes up? For what?"_

"W-why?" he asked and cursed at himself in his mind for stuttering when he was only saying one word.

"You're good at chemistry right?" Sakura asked as she pulled out her exercise book.

"Yeah..." Itachi answered, a bit confused.

"I was wondering if you could you know, help me with my homework..." Sakura asked, averting his gaze out of embarrassment.

The boy was a bit taken back at the request and was speechless for about two seconds, before it clicked and he began to laugh.

"Hey! I'm serious so don't laugh!" Sakura shouted at the boy.

"Sorry but I'm just amazed that the great almighty mathematician Sakura is having problems with a little first year chemistry."

"It's not my fault I suck at it..." Sakura muttered.

"Don't worry I'd be glad to help Sakura-chan." Itachi replied with a grin.

Sakura's cheeks flared but she inwardly told herself not to fall for it because she was with Sasuke. Of course she couldn't help it when Itachi took her hand in his and led her to an isolated bench on one side of the everlasting pathway.

"Okay now let's see what's the problem here." Itachi said as her opened the book she gave him.

"I wrote down some questions that I couldn't understand." Sakura piped up truthfully.

Itachi stared at the book, then looked up at Sakura with a WTF face, then back at the book.

"They're all wrong aren't they? I tried my best!" Sakura confessed.

"It's not that..." Itachi said distantly, "...it's just that, this stuff is...second year chem stuff...my level stuff...why are YOU doing this for homework!"

"Well about that, heehee." Sakura said, laughing sheepishly but Itachi wasn't fazed by it. He stared at her, waiting for an explanation so he wouldn't be confused anymore.

Sakura sighed, "Okay here's the thing. My class is DUMB."

"That's kinda harsh."

"No I mean we've been doing diffusion from the first day of school up till NOW. That's almost an entire term dedicated to omg-the-water-turned-purple-! " Sakura said, sarcastically showing emotion for the last part.

Itachi snickered.

"Yeah." Sakura agreed.

"So I've decided to try learning chemistry on my own because if I rely on class I'll never get anywhere and I feel like I'm losing brain cells in there." Sakura continued. She then turned happily to him, "So can you help me?" she beamed.

Itachi only sweat dropped, "Well, first you need to LEARN the basics of organic chemistry before you randomly try out questions you find in older classes."

"Oh right. Hee hee." Sakura rubbed the back of head. "But how did you-"

"Know?" Itachi finished, "Because this was last week's homework." he said smiling.

"Took you a week before you decided to give up and ask for help huh?" Itachi teased but before Sakura could scold him for making fun of her determination he spoke up, "Oh! This one's right!"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, it is, I guess."

"Oh you got the answer from the question before you cheater!" he said and gave her a light whack on the head.

"Ow!" Sakura said but when she heard him mutter "I should've thought of that." she giggled.

Sasuke had clean up duty and so left his class last. As he walked down the everlasting pathway, he usually ignored the other students. But today he heard a familiar giggle and looked to his left to see Sakura and Itachi sitting on a bench. The couple were enveloped in the orange glow of the sunset.

The fact that they looked so close and that they were having fun irritated the younger Uchiha. He quickly walking down the everlasting pathway and left the school.

_**[NEXT DAY]**_

The bell rang and the class left art class. Sakura was happy she managed to finish her art assignment over the weekend. As the students made their way across the lawn to homeroom, she walked behind the group, happy with satisfaction.

And so she was caught off guard when someone grabbed her arm. She turned around to see none other than Sasuke holding her arm.

"Sakura, can we talk for a minute?" he asked politely.

The girl simply nodded, her voice gone from sheer happiness. Karin looked around for Sasuke but her search was cut short because she felt something on her shoulder and it sent chills down her spine.

"Aww, miss me already?" Suigetsu asked as he rested his chin on Karin's shoulder.

Karin slowly turned her head to see him with big puppy dog eyes staring back at her.

"." she commanded and the boy followed.

"Sorry but I hate Art I don't know how you people can stand that crazy Blondie. Well I'm sure you're good at it. Draw me something sometime okay?" he said grinning.

Karin was about to argue but decided not to give in. She calmed herself down, "Have you seen MY Sasuke-kun?" she asked while looking around. Sasuke and Sakura had walked off while Karin was distracted by the well aware Suigetsu and so she missed them.

"Why are you looking for that guy? I'm right here." he said, pointing a thumb to his chest with his famous shark grin.

Karin gave him a are-you-serious-? look before sighing, "Look Suigetsu, I know you like me and all but I don't feel the same way. I'm sorry but my heart belongs to Sasuke-kun."

Suigetsu stared at her for a few seconds. When he realized she was serious he scoffed. "Heh. I think someone's a bit self-centred. Who ever said they liked YOU? I said you look better with me but that doesn't mean I'm giving you the chance to experience it."

Karin gaped at his cockiness. Her reaction only made him smirk.

"Oh don't worry my dear Karin, I also told you that I'd make you realize you look better with me than him, so you'll still have my attention." he grinned at her.

She was about to explode in anger and he knew she was. So he didn't give her a chance. He walked up to her, wrapped is arms around her knees, and hoisted her onto his shoulder, walking across the lawn caveman style.

"What are you- PUT ME DOWN! SUIGETSU!"

"Allow me to escort you to homeroom Karin-_chan_."

"Wha-NO! Put me down this instant!"

"I knew you'd refuse me, so I didn't give you a choice. Don't worry the wind won't blow up your skirt because it's blowing in the opposite direction." Suigetsu informed her with a grin.

He felt happier and happier as he walked past students and they whispered amongst each other. Karin, on the other hand, became angrier and angrier the more she felt embarrassed at the situation.

_**[Later on in the day]**_

The bell rang and lunch was over. As the students filed out of the cafeteria and to their classes, Sakura walked slowly and solemnly.

_"Why would Sasuke-kun ask me to do this? I don't understand why...?"_

"Sakura!" an all too familiar voice called out and Sakura turned around to see Itachi at the back of the crowd jumping up and down to get her attention.

"Wait up!" he called out and began to push through the crowd. She hesitated, not knowing what to do. Her eyes widened when she also saw Sasuke. Looking right at her. She knew he was waiting to see what she would do.

His face expression was also not the polite and warmly smiling one she knew but a cold smirk that made her hair stand on end. She gulped and looked back to the older Uchiha: jovial and eager to be reunited with her. The expression on HIS face wasn't making things any easier either.

Sakura bit her lip, turned around and ran down the corridor. As she ran she remembered what Sasuke brought up earlier that day,

_**[F**__u__**LASH**__u__**BACK**__u__**]**_

_"What is Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked chirpily._

_"Sakura," Sasuke looked at the girl with a serious face, "I don't think it's a good idea to get too close to Itachi."_

_Sakura's eyes widened, "W-Why? What's wrong with hanging out with him?"_

_Sasuke sighed, "There's nothing wrong with hanging out with him it's just that...last term there was this girl...and he stole her away from me...so I think it might happen again with you. I won't force you but, if you get too close to him then, I fear I'll lose you...just like her."_

_"..." Sakura didn't know what to say. She had never seen Sasuke like this; he'd never told her anything about his past life, and she also couldn't believe Itachi would do something like that. Yeah he flirted with all the girls but still._

_"At least for now. Just avoid him for awhile okay? Please? I'm going to try persuading me to leave you alone as well. Promise?" the boy looked at her: waiting for a reply._

_Sakura looked down at her hands in her lap. She was playing with her fingers. "...Okay. I guess we are a bit too close for 'just friends' aren't we?"_

_"Great. Well, we better head to class now or we'll be late." Sasuke said and offered a hand to help her up. She accepted it with a blush._

_**[END F**__u__**LASH**__u__**BACK**__u]_

Itachi looked up momentarily while wading through the sea of children to see Sakura running away.

"S-Sakura! Wait up!" he called out and pushed harder till he saw a clearing and dashed after her. As he ran past his brother, the latter's smirk grew.

Two arms suddenly wrapped themselves around one of his and Sasuke turned to see Karin clinging on to him tightly.

"Karin get off what's wrong with you?" he asked with a slight tone of disgust in his voice at the girl's boldness.

"Sasuke-kun help me please Suigetsu won't leave me alone!" Karin cried out.

Sasuke looked at her fake sobbing very loudly, then quirked an eyebrow at the sharp toothed boy walking down the corridor towards them.

"Karin can't you see you're bothering Sasuke-chan? Let's go to class early!" he said happily and dragged the girl as he sprinted down the corridor. Unfortunately, Suigetsu is a very fast runner, and so Karin wasn't being dragged on the floor but literally flying. A trail of tears floated behind her as she silently cried from being unable to resist the man in front of her.

Sakura had run her class and as soon as she entered she ran behind the classroom door. She then let out a breath of relief, _"Whew. I lost him. I hope he didn't see me run in here."_

Three girls who sat at the front of the class noticed the pink-haired girl's antics.

"What are you doing, commoner?"

"Is it some kind of commoner game?"

"Or are you planning on playing a trick on our sensei?"

Sakura was too busy thinking of other thoughts to argue back, but she heard them and realized they had seen her hide. So she leaned her head out of her hiding space and spoke softly,

"Oh me? I'm not doing anything! But if someone comes looking for me I'm not here okay?" Sakura said and hid behind the door once more.

The girls looked at each other and one of them moved their index fingers in a circle around their ears. The other two girls nodded in agreement and they sat down in their seats.

Soon enough, Itachi came bursting through the door. His dramatic entry caused the door to slam into Sakura's face. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands to quieten any squeak of pain that escaped from the pain in her nose and forehead.

Itachi scanned the classroom with his eyes. The three girls at the front saw him when he entered and jumped up,

"Itachi-sama!" they all shouted out in unison and proceeded to squeal.

On hearing his name the boy looked at them, "Have you seen Sakura?" he asked eagerly.

"Sakura? Who's that?"

"Oh! That's the commoner's name, isn't it?"

"What do you want with her Itachi-sama?"

"Just tell me if you've seen her."

The girls hesitated. They exchanged glances amongst each other. The girl in the centre, apparently the leader, looked at the door behind Itachi.

"Well?" Itachi asked impatiently. He really wanted to find her because he saw her troubled expression before she ran off.

Sakura had her fingers crossed behind the door, _"Please don't say anything. Please don't say anything. Just shut up. Shut up and say you don't know...!"_ she thought as she closed her eyes.

Itachi noticed the girls looking at the door behind him. He looked at it too. He nudged it slightly and noticed it stopped moving. Sakura also opened her eyes when she felt the door slightly hit her forehead.

Itachi looked back at the girls, "Is she behind this door.?"

He took a step and put his hand on the door to pull it away from Sakura and the wall. When Sakura saw his fingers appear on the edge of the door she closed her eyes again.

The girl in the centre quickly stepped forward and intercepted him, "Oh no Itachi-sama there's no one behind here!"

Itachi looked at her with an inquisitive expression. The girl began to sweat. "There's only uh.." she looked at Sakura behind the door. Sakura looked to her left to see a mop leaning against the wall. She quickly passed it across.

"This mop! This mop is the only thing behind the door. It was stopping the door from opening fully." the girl said, pulling out the mop and laughing nervously.

Itachi stared hard at her, trying to see if she was lying. Of course this wasn't going to work because the girl began to blush from how close he was to her face. One of her jealous friends interrupted the stare off.

"I think I saw her run past this classroom Itachi-sama."

Itachi immediately stood up and looked at the girl who just spoke, "Really? Okay, thanks." he said as he quickly left the classroom and sprinted down the hall.

As he left both the girl with the mop and Sakura let out a loud sigh. Sakura walked out from behind the door, "Thank you guys."

The girl with the mop turned around, "We didn't do this for you, commoner."

"Yeah," another girl spoke up, "we just don't like how you're so close with Itachi-sama."

"It's not fair that he gives you so much attention! We were glad to have the opportunity to delay him from you and have him actually acknowledge us in a conversation!"

"He usually never looks at us freshmen..."

Sakura sweat dropped when she discovered the girls' motive for helping her, "Well, thanks anyways." she said and walked down the aisle to her seat. Luckily Sasuke wasn't in this class so she could be at peace.

The bell rang for the end of class and Sakura began to fret because she knew what class she had next, Math II.

She took a deep breath and let it out to calm herself before packing up her things to leave. It made no sense to avoid him by running away because she knew she'd have to face him sooner or later: she sat in front of him for Math.

As soon as she entered the classroom she looked up to see Itachi with his hand in his hand and gazing out of the window. She wanted to enter quietly but they wouldn't let her.

Kisame looked up and noticed her entry, "Well lookie here Prince! You're Princes has arrived so you won't have to skull to look for her anymore!" he said loudly and ended with a hearty laugh.

Itachi turned his head slowly to see what all the clamour was about. His eyes widened when he saw Sakura walking to her seat and realized Kisame was talking to him. He stood up immediately as Sakura put her bag on the back of her chair.

"S-Sakura! Where did you run off to? I looked everywhere! Even the pool!" Itachi asked worriedly.

"Oh uh, just around..." Sakura avoided the questions as she sat down. Itachi sat with her.

"Is something wrong? You didn't exactly look happy before you ran off at lunch." he asked.

"Um, Itachi..."

"Yeah?"

"..."

"What?"

Itachi reached out to touch her shoulder and turn her a bit to face him, but right before he reached her shoulder she shouted out,

"Let's not hang out anymore!"

He stopped in mid movement, shocked at what she said. Sakura opened her eyes and looked up to see that most of the class had heard her outburst. The class fell silent and all the guys were staring at her.

She suddenly felt embarrassed that everyone heard but remembered who she was talking to and turned to Itachi. Itachi was frozen. He was completely and utterly confused. He couldn't understand why she suddenly shouted out something like that.

_"..wha-...why is it that I'm always wrong about these things? First with her chemistry homework and now this...I don't understand how this girl thinks...did I do something wrong?"_

"Wha-"

"I'm sorry!" Sakura shouted out and turned around in her seat so she couldn't see his face anymore. His expression was one of shock but at the same time had a little hurt in it. And she felt horrible for saying it.

There was more silence: some of the guys took out their books and spoke quietly amongst each other. There was a sigh and Sakura almost jumped. She looked at her hands in her lap as she played with her fingers. Itachi ran a hand through his hair as he sighed.

He paused, wondering what to do: he used to spend his math classes just talking to Sakura and distracting her from her work. Then they'd both have to stay behind to finish the assignments together.

He decided to resume his position and looked out the window. He looked at his hand on his desk and thought about moving it to play with her hair. That's what he would usually do. But he also knew that right now that wasn't the best thing to do.

He looked back out the window, "Well at least your okay. I thought something had happened to you." he said lazily as he leaned onto his hand.

_"Okay? I should be the one asking you that. I'm sorry Itachi...I'm sorry!" _Sakura thought. She didn't want to cry in a class full of guys. So she took out her exercise book at keep herself occupied and forget about tears.

She quickly turned around, grabbed her bag, and turned back, without looking up once. Itachi glanced at her during this swift movement, then sighed as she opened it and looked for her book.

Every time he sighed she hated herself more. The class was solemn during that session and Kakashi was very suspicious of them. As soon as the bell rang Sakura jumped up, grabbed her things and sped out of the class. Itachi reached his hand out to stop her but stopped.

He looked at his hand, and clenched it in mid air. Kisame and the others watched Sakura get up and leave, and Itachi reaching for her. Kakashi also noticed. He closed his eyes.

_"It's going according to plan but, I've never thought about it from the other guy's point of view...it's pretty harsh when you look at it that way isn't it..."_

The other guys left the class quietly. When Itachi exited the room and group of guys approached him,

"Hey Itachi! Let's go eat at that new restaurant!" Kisame suggested.

"We can go to the park too I heard they just put up a basket ball court. We need to mark our territory." another suggested.

Hidan walked up and slapped a hand on Itachi's shoulder, "Don't worry Itachi, she's not that great anyw-" he stopped talking when Itachi turned to him with a death glare. Itachi pushed his hand off his shoulder, fixed his shirt by pulling up the top of the sleeves, put his hands in his pockets, and walked out of the crowd and down the corridor.

The guys watched him leave, then ganged Hidan,

"What the hell was that Hidan?" Kisame shouted at the guy.

"What's wrong with you man! You stepped way over the line on that one!" another spoke up.

"Hey I was just trying to cheer him up!" Hidan tried to justify himself.

"But for him, there's no one else..." a voice said and the guys stopped fighting and looked in the direction it came from to see Kakashi standing there, watching Itachi leave. He turned to them and smiled, "Here's your homework! I forgot to give you in class."

The guys groaned and Kakashi walked down the corridor to give Itachi his copy as well. When he caught up with Itachi he tapped the boy's shoulder with the paper.

"Homework. It's due next week."

Itachi stopped walking, took a hand out of his pocket and received the paper with looking back at the man.

"Why'd you give me two?"

"Oh could you give Sakura one as well? Since you guys are so close I thought I'd throw this responsibility on you."

"Didn't you hear? We're not close anymore."

"...And you're just going to leave things that way?"

Itachi turned around to look at Kakashi: see what kind of expression the man had when he said that. Was he mocking him? Or was he serious? Of course Kakashi's mask prevented him from finding out. He sighed and turned around to leave.

Kakashi watched Itachi leave, _"Is it wrong to switch sides...? I feel like rooting for him now..."_

**TADAA! CHAPTER! THE DRAMA STARTS! SASUKE'S TAKING INITIATIVE OH NO [lol].** READ AND REVIEW XD

**And you know what this means guys; that christmas special is coming up pretty soon XD **


	15. Chapter 15 Against the World

**Readers: Christmas Special! Christmas Special! Christmas Special Now!**

**Me: I'm working on it! Please! Just a little more time!**

**Readers: *set house on fire***

**Me: Nuuuuuuuuuu! *flees***

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 15

_**Narrator:**_ _...is it better to follow the storm's direction for the entire journey? or would it hurt to stop on a nearby branch for a little while...?_

Sakura walked home in silence, entered her house in silence, and walked past her mother in the kitchen in silence.

"Oh you're back Sakura! I'm leaving shortly so is there anything you want to talk about?" the mother said as she grabbed a bottle of unknown substance from the fridge.

Sakura didn't respond. She just continued on her way to her room. Her mother looked at the quiet girl. She couldn't see her face because Sakura's head was down looking at her feet as she dragged them across the floor.

"Sa-" *beep*beep*beeeeeeeeeeeeeep*

Sakura's mother was going to ask her what was wrong but her pager went off. She yanked it off her waist and glared at it but when she saw the number she paled.

"Sorry Sakura I gotta go but we'll definitely talk later okay? I know something's wrong but you can tell me anything don't worry!" the woman called out as she grabbed her jacket and left the house, locking the door behind her.

The click of the door was the only sound made in the house. It signalled to Sakura that she was the only one in the house. She fell down to her knees and began to cry. She held her hands to her face and sobbed loudly.

_"I've never felt like this before...I've never done something like this before...usually I'm the one who gets dumped...like I'm not needed anymore...I don't Itachi to feel like that!"_

Another thought popped up in her head that made her stop crying momentarily. It also gave her the strength to go to her room and think deeply on it instead of on the living room floor.

She entered her room and collapsed on the bed, leaving the door open.

_"Sasuke-kun said that Itachi stole a girl from him...how is that possible? What happened?...Was he dating her! And Itachi made her fall for him instead so she dumped him? That's horrible...but, their relationship isn't a good one. Even at breakfast that time I was at their house, they were always arguing, never on good terms with each other...and it kinda did seem like they were fighting over me...but Sasuke-kun won that time didn't he? I mean I am his girlfriend now right? And didn't Itachi accept that? I mean he hasn't really tried to hit on me since then so...he's accepted that we're just friends! So shouldn't it be fine? But Sasuke asked me to stay away from him..."_

Sakura took out her phone and stopped. Even though she had said she wouldn't do it, she still made the picture her phone's wallpaper. And right not it was making her feel worse. It was also making her wonder if Itachi was really trying to steal her away too. Sakura turned her head to look at the night sky from her window and sighed.

_**[Uchiha Mansion]**_

Itachi had approached his limo and without a word to his driver, entered the vehicle and left it. His behaviour was extremely unusual because he had never looked so crestfallen before. He walked up the stairs into the mansion, ignoring the maids and butlers bowing alongside of him, and journeyed to his room.

This worried the staff as well, but they went inside and resumed their duties nevertheless. As Itachi walked past on of the many large and luxurious lounges a voice spoke up from inside the room,

"What's wrong dear brother you look so sad? Is it because Sakura doesn't want to be friends anymore?"

Itachi's eyes widened in realization. It was his brother's doing. How could he have not thought of it earlier?

"You little bastard what did you tell her this time!" he asked as he walked into the room and grabbed Sasuke by the collar of his shirt. The boy was smirking back at him.

"An Uchiha does not use such language. Unhand your brother, son." another voice said and Itachi froze. He looked at Sasuke and saw the boy's smug expression. His eyes said it all. He was set up.

"I said unhand him!" The mother said, raising her voice a little. Itachi followed, letting Sasuke drop into his chair roughly. Itachi looked like he was in a daze.

"Good. So Sakura doesn't want to be friends with you anymore? There's nothing wrong with that. She must've realized that befriending someone like you would not benefit her in any way. She already has my son for a lover anyways." the woman said as she crossed one leg over the other and pulled down her skirt to cover her thighs.

Sasuke stood up, "Don't worry Itachi, I'll take good care of her." he said as he brushed off his clothes and fixed them. He took a step to walk past the brother in front of him.

"I won't let you steal her away too." he whispered in Itachi's ear smoothly without stopping as he passed him and left the room.

Itachi stood there, unable to do anything. He was completely lost.

_"That kid set me up. He's a coward. But what was he talking about? Steal her away? Also? What? I've never stolen anyone away from that guy! Did he make up a lie and tell Sakura?"_

"Son, sit down. I want to have a talk with you. It's about Sakura." the mother said. On hearing her name Itachi tuned in and looked at the woman sitting in front of him. His eyes went from super open to half lidded when he broke his thoughts and came to a conclusion. He knew what she was going to say. He knew her intentions from the beginning.

_**[LATER]**_

Itachi sighed as he walked down the corridor to his room. He was right. She spent the entire time lecturing him on how she was happy Sasuke had found someone he liked for the first time and that he should not interfere because she knows he could easily find someone else to be his lover. She went on and on about how Sasuke was always a loner and how he was the total opposite: making women faint from the age of 4 with his charm.

He knew from years of experience that it was best not to talk back to her during these arguments and to just accept what she was saying, even if he didn't agree with it. He was, however, shocked when she announced to him that she was also supporting the relationship and that she would be trying her best to prevent him from getting close to Sakura as well if he tried to break them up. She literally told him that he should not try to be seen lower in her eyes than he already is. That part really got to him, but he kept quiet until she was done and sent him away in disgust for not telling her he would obey.

_"So Sasuke even got to her too? Is he really serious? I've never seen him try so hard..."_

_"...but..."_

He entered his room and locked the door. He then turned on his CPU and monitor before throwing his bag on the floor by the bed. He went to the bathroom and washed his face before going to the computer chair and sitting in it.

When the screen turned up he paused to look at it. Even though Sakura had asked him not to, he still put up the phone picture as his background. And right now it was being very influential.

_"...but...it can't be her...I don't really know why but, it just can't be her..."_

_**[THE NEXT DAY]**_

The day went by smoothly but quietly for Itachi and Sakura. They didn't see each other during the day so there was no awkwardness. However, she also didn't try to interact much with Sasuke. She didn't even look at him. She spent the day doing her assignments, looking at her phone, and spacing out and sighing.

The girls in the class were getting creeped out by it as the day went on. Even during P.E she barely did anything. She sat on the bench for all of basketball and refused to play. She was also the last person to finish the one lap around the field, by a mile.

Sasuke was feeling irritated at her sulky behaviour and agreed that even her lovey-dovey mode was better than this. He approached her but as soon as he reached,

"Sorry Sasuke I have some extra work to do now so I'll see you around okay?" Sakura quickly said and ran down the corridor. She didn't want to talk to him now because she was still slightly confused. He also wasn't the Uchiha she wanted to talk to deep down in her heart.

However, the fact that THE Sasuke was just ditched by her pissed him off even more. He knew he was in public though and in public he had a certain reputation that he intended to keep.

When it was time for lunch Sakura decided to have hers outside. Sasuke noticed this and decided to follow her. She sat under a tree with her meal and began to eat it.

Itachi noticed Sasuke following Sakura and also decided to join the train outside.

_"Finally some peace and quiet with Mr. Not Prejudiced Mango Tree. I wonder if you could help me if I told you my problems?" _she thought with a small smile as she looked up at the tree.

"May I join you?"

Sakura jumped. She didn't think anyone was around. Unfortunately, standing beside her with a can of soda, was Sasuke. She looked around in anticipation but when she saw his face her face dropped a little. She quickly looked back to her lunch hoping he didn't notice but he did. He never said anything about it though.

"O-Of course! Please do!" Sakura answered with pink cheeks.

Sasuke sat down beside her, "I don't think we've ever had lunch together. Well, I already had mine before you came in," Sasuke said, looking at his one can compared to Sakura's sandwich and juice.

Itachi saw a little of her hair blowing from behind the tree and ran over but as he got closer he heard her talking to someone, and the someone's voice sounded like his brothers.

"Listen, Sasuke-kun, I've been thinking and," Sakura said as she played with her fingers in her lap again, "I accept being your girlfriend and I wouldn't mind making it official." she said and looked at him seriously.

The boy across from her raised his eyebrows in surprise. He really didn't expect her to say something like that.

"Is that why you were looking so troubled all day? Well I must say I'm flattered."

Sakura's face lit up as she saw him smile and quickly looked down to her fingers in her lap. Itachi stopped walking. He was also surprised. Very surprised. Sakura had never made up her mind about anything. She had just gone with the flow, not fully agreeing or disagreeing with anything. For once, she made something clear, and it was Sasuke, not him.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, but he didn't act. He only turned around and walked away. Fortunately, the bell had rung shortly after Sasuke replied.

"Ah! There's the bell! Gotta go to class!" Sakura jumped up. Sasuke just watched her with a smile he knew would get her and when she looked at him to see why he wasn't getting up she did.

He shook his head and got up, taking his can with him, "Really, I am flattered." he said again and walked past her. As he circled around the tree he saw his brother walking away and smirked. Sakura followed him, secretly overwhelmed with joy that she was able to take a stand for herself and confess and that Sasuke returned her feelings but froze when she too saw Itachi.

"I-Itachi!" she said, stunned. The boy stopped and lifted his head up, but didn't turn around.

"D-Did...did you hear anything just now?"

"...I was going to give you your math homework from yesterday but you seemed to be busy. Since we have class next I'll give you then." and he walked off without another word. Without one glance in her direction.

Even though she had just proclaimed her love to the Uchiha beside her, she felt like someone just stabbed her heart and she watched the other one walk away. She wanted to reach out to him. To grab him and tell him nothing happened, but something did happen. And because it did, she was in no place to reach out to him.

She turned to Sasuke and saw an evil smirk on his face for one second that made her feel uneasy. It quickly changed to the so called 'sincere' smile she'd been shown all the time. "You better go or you'll be late." he said and she blushed, nodded and ran ahead.

She felt an ominous aura being emitting from the closed door to Math II but she knew she had to enter. As she slid the door open the class fell silent, even though there was barely any noise before. They all glared daggers at her. And she was really feeling them.

She looked up and saw Itachi, literally in the opposing corner, his head on his desk and his arms folded in front of it. She felt a lump rise in her throat as she tried to swallow. Still, she had to pass through death's valley first. As she walked to her chair the guys threw paper at her shouted out things like,

"What did you do to our friend?"

"You still have the guts to show up here after what you said to Itachi!"

"Are you really brave or just stupid?"

You're just a freshman! Go back to your year you commoner!"

Some of the papers missed, but it's the thought that counts sometimes. The only two not participating were Kisame and Itachi. She used her bag to block most of the paper balls and finally managed to make it to her seat, When she sat down Itachi sat up. Turns out he wasn't sleeping.

The paper had stopped when Itachi sat up, but after a few seconds, insults were still being thrown. Sakura took out her book and tried her best to ignore them but it was hard. As she headed up today's date in her book her hand was shaking slightly. She could feel the tears welling up but she didn't want to cry.

No one saw the person, but a missile was thrown after Sakura amidst the crowd of angry men. No one noticed until it hit. Sakura's eyes widened in shock when she saw a divider hit the floor beside her from the corner of her eye. The class also fell silent.

She turned her head to see Itachi's hand blocking her face. After the protractor stopped bouncing on the floor he spoke "Who threw that?" he demanded, vengeance in his voice.

The class went silent. No one spoke up. He broke his glare from the men surrounding him and Sakura, and turned to her, "You're fine right?" he asked but lacking in sincerity.

Sakura was speechless. She looked at him but his eyes were cold. She had never seen him so heartless. "Y-yes...but why...?" was all she could get out.

"Whether I'm your friend or not, I have still been appointed as your guardian by Kakashi-sensei, and so I still have the duty of protecting you, if nothing else."

Sakura just stared at him. And he stared at her. His eyes showed no care for her though. The expression he had on made it look like he protected her just because it was something to do. And it made her want to cry. Kakashi entered the class room with "Hey kids!" but stopped his jolly welcome when he read the atmosphere.

"...Work time! Take out your books let's go! Let's go!" he said and clapped his hands twice to get everyone's attention.

Sakura quickly turned around so she wouldn't have to see such an apathetic expression any longer. He reminded her of Sasuke when she had seen him for the fist time.

_"It's like...they've switched..."_

"Sakura!" Kakashi called out and the girl jumped in her seat. "I trust you've received your homework?"

"What?" Sakura said but as soon as Kakashi had asked a paper slid down her shoulder and she caught in by reflex. The top of the paper read 'Homework. Due Next week Monday"

"Y-yes." she squeezed out without breaking down in tears. The due date was in Itachi's handwriting.

"Good well, I'm going to put up about five questions today, you guys are going to do them, and then I'll choose random students to work them out!" Kakashi said as he walked to the board and began writing.

After a few minutes Kakashi closed his orange book, "Time's up! Itachi, you're up first."

Said boy looked up at Kakashi, then sighed and took his book as he walked to the front of the class. As soon as he reached the front of his aisle Hidan turned around to face Sakura,

"You better watch out. You've already crossed the line once but Itachi's offered to protect you and so he brought you back to base. But if you cross the line again you might not be able to make it back to your safe haven. We'll get you, and we'll strike when he's not with you."

The death threaten freaked out Sakura, and she began to tremble a little.

"Correct! Okay next person is...Kisame!"

Hidan turned around as soon as Kakashi announced the result. Itachi immediately turned around and made his way back to his seat without glancing at anything but the floor in front of him.

"No Kisame that's obviously wrong how did you get something like that for an answer. Let me see your book...It's completely blank what have you been doing for half the class!" Kakashi scolded whacked the blue man with the exercise book before slamming it against his chest and sending him back to his seat. The class snickered.

"Next up is...Sakura." Kakashi said as he looked around the class. "This one's hard so you have to do it." he said with a smile. Sakura nodded hesitantly as she looked to the glaring men in the class. She got up and walked nervously past Hidan as she made her way to the board.

She worked quickly and put the chalk down as she finished. She wanted to sit back down as soon as possible. Of course the guys didn't see it that way,

"Oh so now she's showing off!"

"Just because she's soooooo smart she can do 2nd year math she's trying to show off that she can do her work fast too."

"She's trying to make us feel dumb now huh?"

Sakura didn't respond. She just turned around and held her book to her chest as she walked back to her seat. As she past Hidan he slipped his foot out and she tripped over it.

"You should watch where you're go-" Hidan began to say but stopped when he noticed that she didn't fall. Itachi had jumped up out of his seat and caught one of her arms to stop her from falling. He was too far to catch her properly.

This time he didn't ask if she was okay. He just helped her stand up properly, then resumed his seat. The coldness made her feel sticky with disgust for herself. 'She made him that way' she thought as she picked up her book slowly and sat down.

_"Ouch. That's cold."_ Kakashi thought as he observed the scene.

There was another awkward silence throughout the class. Kakashi broke it,

"Well since there seems to be so much drama going on and this atmosphere is suffocating, I'm going to put up the answers for the last two and end class early okay?" he said and then proceeded to do what he said.

Sakura checked her work with the answers on the board whilst everyone else copied it off. As soon as everyone was finished they sprinted out of the class, relieved to be away from the 'pink-haired witch who stole the prince's happiness' according to Hidan.

Itachi also left as soon as he was done but Sakura reached out and grabbed his hand. He stopped walking immediately.

"Itachi!" she shouted out as she grabbed his hand.

"..."

"Look at me!" she shouted out.

"..." Itachi didn't move.

"I know I said we shouldn't hang out and that you're following that better than I am right now. I also know that I'm being selfish right now but..." Sakura's voice was trembling because she couldn't hold it anymore. The tears were falling.

Itachi looked down at the ground in front of his. He was finally showing emotion, and it was sadness. His bangs covered his face so Kakashi couldn't see it but the teacher could read atmosphere's very well and decided to slip out of the class room quietly. He stood at the door and pulled it up but peeked inside.

The hallways were clearing because school was over and students walked past whispering he was weird. He shooed them away when they wanted to be nosy as well.

"Please!" Sakura's voice broke and she tugged his arm as she stood up. As soon as she stood up Itachi turned around and hugged her, to her amazement.

"Sakura..." he said softly and squeezed her shoulders. His voice also sounded sad. Sakura was shocked but when realization hit her, the tears fell freely and she hugged him back, squeezing his shirt as she closed her hands on it.

"I'm sorry *sniff* I really don't ever *sniff* want *sniff* to stop being friends with you *sniff* but-" she started to explain but Itachi quieted her down.

"Shh." he said as he held the back of her head with one hand. He could feel her tears on his shoulder and became more and more angry with Sasuke for playing with her.

When Sakura had clamed down a bit Itachi let her sit back down and wiped away her tears with his finger.

"I'm sorry." she said again. She looked like she was ready to cry again but Itachi spoke up to distract her, "It's okay. Why don't you tell me what Sasuke told you?" he asked gently.

The welling feeling of tears disappeared from shock. Sakura looked up at him, "How did you...?"

"Just a hunch. Am I right? I want you to tell me, Sakura." he said, still speaking softly and gently.

Kakashi tried to open the door more to listen but it creaked and ruined the moment. Itachi and Sakura quickly looked in his direction: Sakura looked like a startled deer about to get hit by a car, probably afraid it was Sasuke; and Itachi looked like a very pissed off lion who just lost his prey thanks to the one him.

Kakashi sweat dropped at Itachi's death glare, "Hey guys! I'm just hear to uh, lock up the classroom now! Sooo...you can take your conversation outside right? School's over you can go wherever you want and talk for however long. I mean it's not like this is a high school fic and all the drama in your life only happens at school right?"

Sakura decided to use Kakashi's ambush to her advantage though, "Don't worry Itachi it's nothing I'll uh, see you around okay?" she said as she stood up and ran past the crouched boy in front of her. "Bye Kakashi-sensei!" she called out as she left.

"Sakura!" Itachi called out but she quickly left the room. He stood there, staring at the open space of the open doorway for a few seconds.

_"Sakura..."_

He then sighed and slung his bag on his shoulder. As he walked past Kakashi he sent him a glare that made the man actually feel a little scared. It WAS his fault anyways. As Itachi left the room Kakashi sighed with relief.

"Whew! I thought he was gonna kill me!" The man said and pushed up his headband to wipe some sweat from his forehead.

Two knocks on the door and Kakashi turned to see the janitor at the door, "I'm here to lock up."

"Oh yes." Kakashi said and picked up his stuff before trotting out of the class.

**CHAPTER DONE! THE POWER OF ITASAKU IS STILL GOING STRONG! THE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL IS JUST A FEW WORDS AWAY! [a few may actually be 4500 which is like, another chapter by the way XD]**

**Please Review! :D**


	16. Chapter 16 Another Love Rival?

**While I lay on the floor at badminton practice, I thought of an idea. And since this story started in second term aka January, the latest it'd be right about now is...May! Just after spring break in which nothing happened because my school doesn't celebrate such things so I didn't feel like giving them such a holiday either 3. So yeah, a hold has been placed on the Christmas Special as it is now seven months away. Therefore more drama...Enjoy! XD**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 16

_**Narrator:**__ ...What will become of our cherry blossom as the storm carries it near the mortal Queen of Thebes, Queen of the Sea...?_

Sakura ran home quickly, hoping to at least make it to the end of the everlasting pathway before Itachi left the building. When she reached home she stopped and leaned over her knees to catch her breath. She entered the house to find it empty but that was no surprise.

Her mom usually wasn't home for evenings or nights and they only saw each other as Sakura headed off to school. Sakura walked up to her room, remembering her mother saying they'd talk when she got back, yesterday.

She once again lay on her bed and looked at her phone as she thought.

_"Why does Itachi want to know what Sasuke-kun told me so much? But anyways, I'm glad he's not mad at me for ignoring him. I didn't think he'd forgive me so easily. Come to think of it...he...he hugged me!"_

Sakura blushed when she remembered the event in the classroom. She then shook her head,

_"Why did that have to come up in my head!...he had strong arms though...and a broad chest...it was a warm hug..."_

she blushed again realizing that she was fantasizing about the guy and slightly slapped her two cheeks together to wake herself up.

_"Why can't I get that image out of my head? Why can't I get HIM out of my head! Ahhhh! It's almost as if..."_

A flashback of when Sakura was at the Uchiha Mansion walking with Itachi in the hallway came to her suddenly,

-"Do you really like Sasuke? Or are you just that easy?"-

_"NO! How dare he say something like that to me I'll never forgive him for saying that! I'll show him! I CAN be devoted to one person! I like Sasuke-kun! I like Sasuke-kun!"_

She sat up straight in her bed and shouted out, "I LIKE SASUKE-KUN!"

"SO WHAT?" a voice outside shouted back and Sakura's head snapped to the window. She saw her cranky neighbour through it: looking at her with a disgusted face.

"PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE YOU KNOW!"

"I DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT YOUR BEAUTY SLEEP YOU HAVE THE NAME OF A COW!"

"WHAT WAS THAT! DON'T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE!"

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY YOU OLD COW!"

"!" the woman then walked away from her window. Sakura too jumped off her bed and sprinted for the front door. She could hear the woman's heavy feet and so could determine how long it would take for her to reach.

Sakura locked the five locks on the door then swung the inside grill and locked the three on that one. She then barred all the windows with the metal shield each had hanging above them. After that she went around to the back door and locked it as well.

As soon as she was finished she didn't even have time to sigh because there was a tremendously loud banging sound on the door.

"OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW YOU PINK HAIRED FREAK I'M GONNA GET RID OF YOU NOW! I SHOULD'VE DONE IT SOONER BUT YOU'VE PISSED ME OFF LONG ENOUGH!" she shouted out as she walked along the house, using a silver baseball bat to bang the door, windows, and walls of the house: which were thankfully concrete.

Sakura just went to the kitchen and grabbed a bag of Doritos. She sat by the centre counter and munched happily, waiting for silence: an indication the woman had given up and left. Eventually, after all the cursing and shouting, there was silence. Sakura was about to get throw her finished bag of chips away when she heard a loud crashing sound followed by a heavy thunk upstairs.

She ran upstairs to find her window smashed and a silver bat on her room floor. A voice called out from downstairs.

"I'll...GET...YOU...THIS...TIME..." the woman said softly and her voice sounded strained. Sakura ran to her window and peered through slowly to see a fat woman climbing, trying to climb up, a pipe that ran along her wall.

She couldn't help but sweat drop because the woman looked like she was fighting herself. The pipe also broke off from the wall and went with her,

The woman fell to the floor with a thud, the pipe following and hitting her in the face. Sakura had to try not to laugh.

"If you don't pfft leave I can pfft sue you for property damage." Sakura said while covering her mouth with her hands. The woman's face was red with anger but when she realized the situation, she hmphed, got up with great difficulty, brushed off her dress, and stormed out of the yard. Sakura let go of her mouth and guffawed loudly, the looked at the bat in her room.

She waited for the woman to enter her house and right before she reached her window, flung the bat. The bat crashed through her window and landed on the floor in front of her.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" the woman shouted out.

"Forgot your bat." Sakura replied flatly.

The woman's face contorted into such a grimace Sakura stopped laughing and ran from her window. As she walked downstairs to remove the metal from her windows and unlock the inside grill she giggled softly to herself: afraid her neighbour would hear her but also feeling very accomplished.

She sighed happily to herself, _"I needed that. Wow, she's actually good for something."_

After doing her homework Sakura fell asleep comfortably, temporarily forgetting everything that happened at school that day.

_**[UCHIHA MANSION]**_

Itachi's night was very quiet. He entered the mansion, went to Sasuke's room, entered without knocking.

The brother looked up at him, then smirked. Itachi bluntly asked, "What did you tell her?"

The boy looked at Itachi, "You really should knock before you enter, big brother." he said mockingly. Of course with the mood he was in, he didn't care for Sasuke's stalling and teasing, so he just left the room with the door open and went to his room.

_"Wha...he's not even going to fight back? He can't really be THAT serious...oh well. My plan is almost complete so you can have her shortly Itachi."_ Sasuke thought and went back to his homework.

Itachi went into his room and slammed the door shut.

_**[The Next Day]**_

"Sakura!" Itachi called out. A smiling Sakura turned around but when she saw Itachi her smile disappeared.

_"Ouch."_ he thought as his hand slightly fell.

"Ouch." he heard softly and turned to see Sasuke walk past him with a smirk. Suigetsu walked past after and raised his eyebrows at Itachi, sticking his tongue out for a second as he followed the other Uchiha.

Itachi couldn't help but scowl. He turned back to see Sakura entering the building and sighed.

And so the days went on like that for about a week. After Kakashi noticing the still slightly awkward silence between the two, he spontaneously gave out a group work assignment.

"Okay guys listen up! It's group project time!"

The class responded with a loud groan.

"Oh come on it's MATH. You don't do projects in MATH CLASS!"

"Yeah! No projects!"

"My word is final! If you do well in this you can fail everything else for the rest of the term and still pass."

The class was suddenly quiet. They took out their books and pens, ready to write down the instructions. Kakashi sweat dropped at the reaction but cleared his throat and moved on.

"Before I tell you what it is I'll tell everyone who is their partner. Um, you with you..." Kakashi began pointing randomly around the class while saying 'you with you' until everyone had a partner except Sakura and Itachi, who knew where this was going from the moment Kakashi said group assignment.

He then took a breath and said in a gentle voice, "And of course the last couple will be Itachi and Sakura." he said with a smile hidden by his mask.

"WHAT!" the class minus Itachi shouted out. Itachi only sighed. Sakura fidgeted in her chair. Itachi, noticing this, but also wanting to get back his friendship, patted her shoulder roughly, "Let's do our best, Sakura." he said with a grin.

Sakura nodded her head slowly in response. Just then the bell rang and Kakashi began to walk out of the classroom. Hidan jumped up, "Kakashi-sensei where're you going you haven't told us what the project is yet!"

Kakashi froze in his mid-walk position, turned, foot still in the air to be stepped on, "Oh yeah...heh heh." he said and rubbed the back of his head while laughing nervously. The class sweat dropped.

"For your group project...you are supposed to...find the hardest problem you can in calculus learn how to answer it answer it then come to class and present it to all of us and its due in two days!" Kakashi said and disappeared as soon as he finished...out the door.

"WHAAAAAAT!" the class shouted out after a few seconds. Some of the guys decided to gang Kakashi and make him give them an extension so they ran outside to chase after him. Others complained and ripped up paper to throw at teh teacher's desk, then, due to their short attention spans, forgot why they were angry and began a paper ball war across the classroom.

"Calculus? We haven't even learnt that yet..." Itachi complained.

Sakura then turned around, "Don't worry I'm very good at it." she beamed.

"Really? Awesomeness! Now I can fail everything else for the rest of the term! XD"

"Itachi don't think you can cheat off of me for everything."

"Didn't you hear him? If we ace this project I don't even have to try homework anymore!"

Sakura was about to scold him again but stopped when she realized she was going back to the old days. She closed her mouth and thought about how to end the conversation,

"...Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's do our best okay?" she said half-heartedly.

"Sakura what's wrong?" Itachi asked, noticing her sudden lack of happiness.

"It's nothing! Nothing...well since Kakashi-sensei left I guess class is over! So I'll just go ahead okay?" Sakura said as she stood up to leave.

"W-Wait! Aren't we gonna decide what question we're gonna do?"

"Oh that's in two days. With my brains we can do it tomorrow in five minutes. I'll look for a question at home. You do the same okay? Okay bye." she said, answering for him and taking her leave before he could respond.

He watched her go again and then sighed. _"I thought everything was better now...guess not..."_

_"That was close. I almost went back. I don't really like avoiding him but, I made a promise...and Sasuke DID say only for a little while right? He said he was going to talk to him about it. I guess he hasn't yet though..."_

_**[The next day]**_

"Sakura! I found one!" Itachi called out in the hallway as he saw a pink head among the crowd.

He took a step to start running but a hand grabbed his arm suddenly, causing him to stop. He looked at the owner of the hand with a questioning look.

"So Itachi, I hear you're on the market again." the girl said with a playful smile.

"Huh? What are you talking about," Itachi turned to look for Sakura amongst the crowd again as he continued, " I've always been on the market."

"Really? So you were never with Sakura-chan? We're good friends you know." the girl said and Itachi turned to her.

"N-..you are? What's your name?" Itachi asked, thinking he could get to Sakura through this girl.

The girl smiled and let go of his arm, "You don't know me? I am Yamanaka Ino, Student Council President, at your service." she answered, saying the last part softly as she stepped closer to him, a finger running down his chest.

Of course Itachi's mind was preoccupied with too much Sakura for him to react to Ino's attempt at flirting. He took the hand on his chest and held it with both hands.

"Can you do me a favour, Ino?" Itachi asked sincerely. Ino couldn't help but blush at the way he spoke to her and said her name.

"...Anything...!" Ino managed to reply.

"Please tell Sakura that I'll be waiting in the Math II classroom after school today. We have a project to work on."

Ino suddenly snapped out of her trance, "What kind of project?" she asked sceptically. She was starting to wonder whether the rumour was true or not.

"Oh it's some calculus thing." Itachi said nonchalantly.

Ino let go a breath she didn't know she was holding. She smiled widely at him, "Don't worry Itachi, I'd be delighted to tell pass along such an important message to her for you."

"Really? Oh thank you! Look, I have to go to class now so, thanks again!" he called out as he ran down the hall waving at her.

Ino's face showed she was startled by the Uchiha's irresistible charm and after he left she put back on her stoic face and flashed her hair as she walked off to her class, but it quickly broke into a lovesick smile as she walked down the hallway in the opposite direction.

And yes the rumours were made. After Karin and Suigetsu's big show, gossip spread like wildfire. The biggest ones were: Karin secretly likes Suigetsu but won't admit it; Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura are getting closer and might be going out soon; and Haruno Sakura is no longer dating Uchiha Itachi. So basically, Sakura was not in a good spot. Of course she didn't know this because no one gossiped about her in her presence. They did so behind her back but she was too preoccupied with Itachi and ways to avoid him that she never picked up on it.

Itachi went through the rest of the day feeling quite content. He didn't want to bother Sakura because he knew she was avoiding him because Sasuke said so; and that him trying to talk to her wasn't helping. So this method of passing a massage through a friend made him feel a lot better. At least she would feel a little less nervous during the day, knowing he wouldn't ambush her or anything.

There was even a moment when they had to cross paths. Itachi saw Sakura walking down the hallway as he turned a corner. When she noticed him she quickly looked to her left at the lockers against the wall and the people at some of them.

They boy wanted to run up to her and ask her if she got his message, but from the look on her face he knew it would bother her, so he only smiled and looked straight ahead he walked.

As the two past Sakura closed her eyes and walked faster, but stopped and turned around sharply when she opened them and didn't see him there. As Itachi had past her he saw a group of guys from his year and went to hang out with them, doing his best to make Sakura's day easier for her.

Two girls also ran up to talk to them and he smiled gracefully at them, making them swoon and catching one of them that fainted.

"Waaahhhhh!" The guys shouted out and slapped Itachi's back one after the other.

"Excuse me, fellow men, I need to deliver this young damsel to the infirmary."

"Yeah you do." One of the guys said and the others nudged him with their elbows before walking away.

Sakura was shocked that he avoided her, and also felt a little enraged.

_"I can't believe he just, walked past me like that! I mean SURE I told him to not hang out with me, but not even a hi? And why is he flirting with those girls? So he can have a fling in the nurse's office? That's just sick. I bet he forgot about the project too didn't he?"_ Sakura thought as she watched the guy walk away with the girl in his arms.

As he did many of the students called out to him and shouted out that they wanted to be held in his arms as well. The boy only grinned happily as he walked down the corridor.

_"I haven't felt like this in a while...It feels kinda nice to be back to my old self."_ he thought.

Sakura hmphed and sharply turned around, storming down the corridor and unaware that she was feeling jealousy for the first time.

The students that noticed her whispered to each other that the rumour must be true. And so another was started: Uchiha Itachi was the one who dumped Sakura.

When school was over Itachi raced down the hall to the Math II classroom and happily took his seat. He checked his watch after he sat.

"Okay it's exactly 2:30 now so Sakura should come around...3:00? I mean she could have her last class on another floor, and she'd need to get her things and stuff. I'll give her some time." he said and smiled to himself.

He was extremely happy that Sakura was going to meet with **him** personally, even if it was just for a project. To him it was progress.

At 3:00 he looked to the door but no one came. Five minutes later he checked his watch with the classroom clock to see if they matched. Ten minutes later the class room door opened and Itachi jumped up out of his seat.

"You made it! I thought you weren't-" he began but stopped when the person entered. It wasn't Sakura, but Ino.

"Oh it's you...what are you doing here?"

"Why the sad face? Aren't you happy to see me?" Ino said as she leaned against the door.

"No it's not that I'm just waiting for Sakura..." Itachi said distantly as he looked out the window while sitting down.

"Oh yeah, her." Ino spat out as she walked towards him.

"You did tell her the message right?"

"Of course! She did look kind of busy when I was talking to her, but I'm sure she heard."

"You sure?" Itachi asked eagerly.

"Don't worry Itachi I'm sure she'll come soon. Why don't I go take a look around the school and I'll come back to report to you if I see her?"

"You'd do that? I don't want to bother you maybe I should-"

"Don't worry," Ino said, pushing Itachi back into his seat with two hands on his shoulders.

"I don't mind helping you at all." she said with another smile.

"You should wait here in case she comes while I'm gone. If you went she might think you stood her up or something."

"...I guess you're right. But you don't have to look really hard I'm sure she's on her way."

"Of course she is." Ino said as she walked outside the classroom.

As she left the classroom became quiet again. Itachi sighed in the silence and looked out the window.

Ino walked down the empty corridor with a wicked smile on her face. Obviously she didn't tell Sakura.

_"Why would I do such a nice thing as to set those two up when I could...have him for myself? This is WAY too easy...When I think about it, Sasuke's way too hard to fight for and in the end, his cold treatment just isn't worth it. I mean, isn't he with Karin? And look at how he treats her. I actually feel sorry for Sakura since she's going to replace her. Oh well. My shoes seem to be the best one to be in right now."_ She thought confidently as she strutted down the corridor with one hand on her waist.

She stopped abruptly when she saw Sakura walking briskly towards her.

"You're still here!" Ino said angrily but quickly composed herself so as to not give anything away.

"I mean, what are you still doing here Sakura? It's so late." Ino said sweetly as she walked to Sakura.

"Sorry but I'm in a rush. I have a project to do with Itachi so I thought he might be in class. You haven't seen him by any chance?" Sakura asked.

"Itachi? Oh that hunk of a man? I was hanging out with him earlier. He's a **really fun guy**." Ino said teasingly.

Sakura's busy-bodyness came to a sudden halt, "You were...hanging out with him?" Sakura asked slowly.

"Yeah we were having a **blast**." Ino teased again.

Sakura was going to ask her to explain but realized that now wasn't the time and she was probably just playing with her.

"Do you know where he is now?" Sakura said, changing the topic slightly.

"Now? Oh he did mention something about a project..." Ino said more to herself than Sakura as she touched her chin with her index finger and looked at the floor.

"Yes! I have a project with him where is he?" Sakura asked, although in her mind she was really asked Ino how she knew that with a snare.

"Hmm, dunno!" Ino sang and shrugged her shoulders.

Sakura gave her a sceptical look.

"What? It's true! He's probably left the school by now I mean it IS like, 4:15."

Sakura looked down at her books, "Yeah I guess you're right..."

Ino put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Look Sakura, why don't you head home and I'll look around the school one more time for you?"

Sakura looked up at her, "No I couldn't...you'd do that for me? Wait, Why WOULD you do that for me?" Sakura asked, becoming a little defensive.

"Sakura, don't you remember? I'm your student council president, and it is therefore my duty to help satisfy the needs of my fellow student body. Besides, I'm free right now and you need to get a head start on your project. When push comes to shove you can always do it yourself. I mean you're so good in Math and all right?"

"...Are you sure?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Positive. Don't worry about it. I'll look really fast because I know this place like the back of my hand. If I don't find him by the time you finish walking down the everlasting pathway, he's not here." Ino said confidently.

"Okay...I guess I could walk slowly." Sakura said as Ino turned her around and pushed her a few steps in the direction of the exit.

"Exactly! Walk slowly. I'll find him or nothing in no time!" Ino reassured her.

"Bye!" she said as she pushed Sakura out the door. The girl nearly tripped down the stairs outside.

Ino waved once then turned around and walked as fast as she could in her heels down the hallway and back to the Math II classroom. She opened the door and Itachi raised his head from the desk, "Sakura...?" he said sleepily.

Ino ran up to him, "Itachi I found her!"

"What! Where?" Itachi said jumping up. Ino ran to him and unnecessarily placed a hand on his arm. She pointed out the window with the other, "Look! She leaving right now! She can still catch her if you run!"

Itachi looked at Ino with a speechless face of shock and gratitude.

"Go!" Ino urged him and the boy nodded. He took her hand and kissed it, said a quick thank you, and left without saying another word.

Ino turned to watch him leave, holding the hand he kissed against her heart with her other hand covering it. She was blushing madly and sighed as he left.

Itachi sprinted to Sakura and caught up with her halfway. Ino sat on his desk with one leg folded over the other casually as she watched the scene out the window.

_"Sakura's just a normal girl. And normal girl's are very predictable. If I'm right, this should go very nicely for me..."_ Ino thought as she watched Itachi run towards her with a wicked smile.

"Sakura!" Itachi shouted out and Sakura stopped immediately. She turned around.

"! Itachi!" she called out and made two steps but stopped to calm herself. She felt like she was an army wife greeting her husband after a war in which many others had died.

"I've been looking for you everywhere! Where have you been?" Sakura said, a bit more calmly.

"What? I was waiting for you in the classroom. Didn't you get my message?" Itachi said, utterly confused.

Sakura's face showed him she was confused as well, "Message? What message? You never told me anything today. In fact, you WALKED PAST me in the hallway." Sakura said, folding her arms over her chest.

"What? No not me. I was calling to you in the morning but I missed you so I asked Ino to tell you that I would be waiting in the classroom for you after school today." Itachi explained.

Unfortunately Sakura stopped listening at Ino. _"Ino? What! Why her! Wait a minute...so...she was right?"_

"Ino?" Sakura asked angrily.

"Yeah. She was keeping me company in the classroom until you came. If it wasn't for her you would've walked right out of here and I wouldn't even know it! I gotta thank her next time I see her." Itachi babbled.

Sakura clenched her fists, "What...?" she growled quietly.

Itachi looked at Sakura, whose bangs were covering her face. She wasn't smiling though, "Sakura you okay? I was wondering if you don't have to rush home today we could still work on the proje-"

"You know what!" Sakura shouted out, bringing her head up sharply and rudely interrupting the boy in front of her, "I **DO **have to rush home so there is **NO** way we can do this now, **OKAY?**" She asked in the form of a shout.

Itachi brought his hands up in defence, "Okay, okay you don't have to get so worked up about it. I'm sure we can just do it early tomorrow right?" Itachi said and laughed nervously but Sakura only glared at him.

Right beside him she saw something blonde and readjusted her vision to see Ino smiling back at her. The girl waved once again and mouthed .I found him for you' before smiling again.

That only made her even more ticked off. "Why don't you go hang out with **Ino**?" Sakura said sourly. "Ino? Why?" Itachi asked, wondering why she was bringing up Ino all of a sudden.

"Hmph!" Sakura said and turned around, "I'm leaving." she said before continuing her walk home.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Itachi called out but the girl didn't respond.

The few children scattered among the lawn on both sides of the everlasting pathway were suddenly glad there limo's got a puncture, or their driver was running late. And so another rumour began: Itachi asked Sakura to come back and she refused him because she was already with Sasuke.

So her worth in other people's eyes increased because at least she was faithful and not just a gold digger or easy girl.

Itachi watched Sakura walk away angrily, completely at a loss as to why her mood suddenly changed. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, _"Girls and their mood swings."_

He walked back to the classroom slowly to get his things and leave, since the meeting was apparently over. Ino had quickly made a phone with her driver and when Itachi returned to the class she jumped off his desk and ran to him.

"Sooo? How'd it gooo?" Ino asked, nudging him with her elbow.

"She got angry for some reason and left." Itachi sighed as he picked up his things.

"What I don't get was, she said she didn't get my message. Didn't you say you told her?" Itachi asked without glancing at the girl beside him.

Ino bit her lip, the, took in air sharply when she thought of another lie, "Oh but I did. What I didn't clarify was when I said she was busy. What I meant wasn't that she was busy with school work or something. When I told her she was on her way to meet with Sasuke-kun."

On mention of the boy's name, Itachi gripped the paper currently in his hand violently, causing it to rip slightly. He loosened his grip on hearing the sound. The reaction only pleased Ino more.

"In fact," she continued, "he was already walking down the corridor while I was talking to her, so she was probably too busy gawking at him, shameless girl..." Ino explained, muttering the last part.

"...Whatever. I'll just do it with her tomorrow morning. We have the whole day anyways." Itachi said grumpily as he stuffed books into his bag. One of them wouldn't fit because he was slamming it in on a diagonal [LOL]. Of course he was too busy being pissed at the attention Sakura was gave Sasuke that he didn't notice and was actually getting angrier at the fact that the book wasn't fitting.

Ino gracefully slipped her hands over his and turned the book, pushing down softly. The book fit perfectly between two others. Itachi looked up at her. "Don't worry Itachi, I'm sure everything will be fine." she said, smiling warmly at him.

Itachi looked at her, then out the window, "I guess...well I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked casually, unfazed by her seduction.

"Uh...sure!" Ino replied, a bit taken back at his lack of reaction towards her flirting. After Itachi left the classroom Ino folded her arms loosely and walked slowly out of the classroom, a smirk on her face.

_"You're good Itachi, and you will be mine."_

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUN...!**

**THE PLOT THICKENS! lol I realized that I had kind of stopped writing about some characters because I was focusing on the triangle of the main character, so I decided to bring one back and cause mayhem *laughs evilly with lightning and thunder in background* [and yes I know this narration sucked xs]**

**...please review! X3**


	17. Chapter 17 The Group Project

**School's coming up oh noes! Gotta hurry up and finish this!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO **

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 17

_**Narrator:**_ _...It looks like the Queen wants to take control of this storm...what will you do little cherry blossom...what can you do...?_

The next day Itachi came to school early. However, Sakura came to school late. And unfortunately, the two didn't see each other until Math II, despite Itachi's desperate searching for her.

He had even asked some of his classmates to help, but Ino had also asked them not to, bringing up how Sakura caused Itachi so much trouble in the past. And so the Uchiha was the only one actually looking: everyone else was helping Sakura go in the opposite direction when they encountered her.

Ino had also managed to speak to Sasuke when Karin and Suigetsu weren't with him.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun?"

"...?" Sasuke didn't reply but looked at to indicate he was listening.

"You don't have to feel irritated by my presence anymore because I'm going for Itachi now!" Ino said with a fist in front of her and a confident face.

Sasuke stared at her, then looked away trying to stifle a laugh. When he turned back to her he was still smiling which made her blush, "Really? You think you have a chance? Do you think he'd go for someone like _you_ ?" Sasuke asked, emphasizing the you at the end.

"Well he went for someone like Sakura, didn't he?" Ino retaliated.

"Hmm, point taken. Well, good luck." Sasuke said sarcastically and turned to leave but Ino pulled his arm back.

"So you're supporting me on this? Because if you are I'd like you to do me a favour..."

Sasuke didn't respond but remained silent, a sign for her to go on.

"Well everyone knows Itachi has or had a thing for Sakura, but there's also another rumour going on that you two are very close. It's also evident that Sakura seems to be leaning to you now, even if she has feelings for your brother. So, could you distract her for me today?" Ino asked his back.

The Uchiha turned around to look at her with his normal emotionless face.

"Only today! After today you can go back to whatever plan you have with her." Ino said and the boy quirked an eyebrow at her, "Plan? With Sakura? I don't know what you're talking about." he said, face still emotionless, but a hint of ulterior motive in his voice.

Without another word he turned and left.

"So you'll do it, right?" Ino called out, but Sasuke didn't reply. She stood there hesitantly for a few seconds, but when she saw Itachi walking outside she quickly up to him.

"Hey Itachi! What's up? You look down." she said chirpily.

"Oh hey Ino. I can't find Sakura ANYWHERE! It's like she's avoiding me and the entire school is helping her or something..." Itachi said as he walked to a bench.

As he sat down he sighed. Ino jumped up onto the seat beside him.

"Don't worry Itachi, I'm sure you'll find her soon. The project's due today right?"

"Yeah, it is. And we haven't even started yet. Yesterday she got mad because she couldn't find me. Will she get mad again today? Even though it looks like SHE'S the one avoiding me?"

"Hmm, well if you're not ready you can always ask for the extra day extension and give it in tomorrow." Ino suggested.

"I think we'll have to do just that." Itachi said and sighed again as he ran a hand through his hair.

Ino moved a lock of hair behind her ear, "You know, I have a lot of math books at my house...if you want, I could look through them for any with calculus questions for you..." she offered, curling the lock of hair around her finger as she spoke.

"I can't let you do that. It's Sakura and my project, so we have to be the ones who do the research and everything. Plus, Sakura said she had stuff and that we'd just go over it before class started but..." he sighed again.

Not really knowing what to say to cheer him up, Ino sat with him in silence, trying to think of something. She put her hand on his and the boy looked up at her instantly.

"Don't be so stressed out. If you need any help just let me know okay?" she said with a smile.

Sakura was walking down a corridor so she could reach class early. As she walked she glanced outside one of the many windows that lined the wall of the corridor, the other lined by lockers.

She was shocked when she saw Itachi and Ino sitting side by side on a bench outside, holding hands. She became very cross and turned around, ready to storm outside and give him a piece of her mind when the bell rang.

She stopped and looked outside the window again. She clenched her fists, then turned back around and stormed to her class instead, _You are so lucky I have class now Itachi. See if I help you with your project now."_ she thought as she went to class.

"Oh! There's the bell! Well, I gotta go Itachi, see ya!" Ino said and jumped up. She was about to run off when Itachi called out to her, "Wait! Could you tell Sakura to go to Math II class early for me?"

"Sorry," she turned back around, "but I don't have anymore classes with her today." she lied with a sad smile, before waving and running off to class.

Itachi watched her leave, his only last hope of getting to Sakura, and slumped in the bench again, sighing.

"Itachi is that you!" a voice shouted out.

Itachi looked up and saw the head nurse coming his way.

"You used my equipment without my permission, stole the key to the infirmary numerous times, hid out in my bathroom, and lied about being sick to get out of punishment, and now you have the audacity to skull class!" the woman shouted out.

Itachi scrambled up after tripping in an attempt to escape the woman, "Sorry Tsunande I was just heading to class!" he sprinted off into the building.

The woman sighed and shook her head as she walked to the bench and sat down, "This is my sculling spot sir, you're gonna have to find another one." she said to herself as she took out a small bottle of sake and drank it.

The time came for Math class for the second years and Sakura, and everyone except Itachi and Sakura entered the class in high spirits: one because they finished their group projects but two, they managed to keep the two main characters away from each other for two and half pages of Microsoft Word.

Sakura entered the class last and when she did Itachi stood up and took a step to approach her when Kakashi surprisingly entered the room right after her. This was a shock to everyone: he was actually early. They didn't even get time to have a paper war.

"Good morning class time for presentations! Ah, Sakura! Since you seem to be standing, why don't you and Itachi go first?" Kakashi suggested as he walked past her quickly to put his things down.

He leaned against the edge and crossed his hands over his chest. Sakura stopped in front of the board, and put her bag down by the wall under it. Itachi sighed, as he walked down to the front.

He faced Kakashi and was about to apologize on Sakura and his behalf for not being prepared in time, but as he opened his mouth Sakura spoke up before him.

"Okay guys pay attention because calculus is actually not that hard. It's just one of those things you learn through practice. Therefore, if you pay attention to every group's question and answer, you should be able to do one on your own."

She said as she wrote on the board, "This is our question." She then read it through for them and took two steps to the right so she could right the answer. She explained why she wrote what she wrote on the board while she was writing it.

Itachi and every other man in the class was dumbfounded at how smoothly Sakura went through everything. It was as if she had memorized how she was going to present, or she was a robot.

"Done!" She said when she finished.

The class was quiet.

After a few seconds, "I don't get it." Hidan said. He was squinting his eyes as if doing that would help him comprehend the problem on the board. Sakura walked to Kakashi to give him the marker. The teacher spoke up, "That's nice Sakura but why didn't you let Itachi say anything? This WAS a group project after all."

Sakura was about to cover for him, but the idiot scolded her before she had the chance, "I can't believe you did it without me! What, just because you couldn't find me yesterday you got pissed and disregarded my help? If you'd just listened to Ino when she was telling you my message about the meeting instead of gawking at Sasuke we could've done it together!"

Sakura whipped her head around, "What are you talking about? Ino never told me anything! In fact, she never approached me ONCE yesterday because she was too busy spending time with YOU! And I wasn't 'gawking' at anyone yesterday!" Sakura shouted back.

"Ahem!" Kakashi cleared his throat and the two stopped arguing to glare at the teacher. Kakashi began to sweat a little under the heavy glare of the two in front of him but he stood his ground, "It seems Sakura did the project by herself. So Itachi, what are you going to do? Are you going to accept your failing grade? Or are you going to try and do it in one night?"

Itachi stopped glaring at Kakashi and instead bowed slightly, "Please allow me to present tomorrow Kakashi-sensei."

"Okay it's settled then! Now both of you to your seats. Good work Sakura." Kakashi said and got up to erase the board. "Who's next?" he asked out loud but everyone's happiness had been sapped by the scene that just occurred. Kakashi turned around to see the children slumped in their chairs, some glaring at Sakura, others with hands crossed glaring at their desks. He sighed, "Okay I'll choose."

Time went by slowly for Itachi and Sakura. When the bell finally rang the two got up at the same time, glared at each other, then Sakura left and Itachi flopped back into his seat. He decided to continue writing off the questions and answers of the other groups.

"The remaining groups will present tomorrow with Itachi!" Kakashi shouted above the loud men and stampeding cows leaving the classroom.

As Sakura left the classroom and walked down the hallway, she saw Ino walking towards her.

"How was the presentation?" Ino asked, a smirk on her face.

"What do you care?" Sakura replied sourly and tried to pass but Ino stepped with her and blocked her path.

"Of course I care about how my future boyfriend is doing in Math class!" Ino said passionately. Sakura looked at the girl, stunned, "W-What? F-future...boyfriend?"

Ino smiled wickedly at her, "Well, yes. We're not together, yet. So future. Is he still inside?" she asked as she looked over Sakura shoulder at the boys leaving the classroom sluggishly.

"Why are you going after Itachi I thought you were 'next in line for Sasuke-kun' ?" Sakura said, crossing her hands over her chest.

Ino looked at Sakura, "Yes I did say that. And I also said you were to lay off, but it seems someone didn't listen. In fact, you skipped me in the line and took him for yourself didn't you?"

Sakura widened her eyes in shock. The reaction brought back Ino's wicked smile, "Exactly. You took what was supposed to be mine. So I decided to skip you and go for his brother. He's older, hotter, definitely friendlier, and genuinely cares for women! Once I get his attention from you, I'll have the most perfect boyfriend in history. So enjoy your life with Sasuke-kun." Ino said as she slapped Sakura's back hard before walking into the class room.

Sakura stumbled forward a few steps from the impact.

"Yeah! Enjoy your life with that jerk Sasuke, Sakura!" One of the guys from her class who overheard shouted out before walking off with a group of other guys.

Sakura stood there for a few seconds. Her heart hurt for some reason. _"What's...going on? First I hear I'm Sasuke's girlfriend from his mother and Itachi. Then he tells me not to tell anyone, but the entire school seems to already know! And you'd think Ino would fight for the guy she likes, but she's going after Itachi instead! But wait, why does that bother me? She's right, I am Sasuke's girlfriend, whether the school thinks it's official or not, so Itachi can date whoever he wants! I don't care, it has nothing to do with me..."_ Sakura repeated her last thought more confidently before walking off to get her things from her locker and leaving the school, repeating to herself that she was with Sasuke and Itachi can do whatever he wants.

When Itachi finished writing off the last of the problems he looked at his pencil and sighed. Two hands slammed on the desk in front of his and he suddenly felt an impact on his forehead. He leaned back holding it in pain.

"What the hell!" he shouted out in reflex only to see a big eyed Ino in front of him, "Soooo? How'd it gooo?" she asked like she did yesterday. Itachi rubbed his head as he sighed again, "Sakura did the project by herself can you believe it?"

Ino gasped loudly and sat in the seat in front of him[Sakura's seat] and placed her hands on his desk, "I can't believe she did something like that!" Ino pretended to be shocked.

"So did she give you any credit for it?"

"Well I kinda spilled the beans before she had a chance to, IF she was even thinking of covering for me." Itachi said as he packed up his stuff.

"Oh. But you got an extension right?" Ino asked.

"Yeah. I wrote down the problems the guys did to help. Surprisingly, Sakura was right: if I pay attention to all of them I can learn it." he said, then sighed again when he remembered that they weren't on good terms.

Ino, noticing this, tried to get his mind off of Sakura and on her instead. She jumped in front of him to make him stop walking, "I'll be your partner then!"

Itachi quirked an eyebrow at her. "Okay I know I'm not in your class so I can't present with you, but, I'm still offering my services. Remember I told you that I had many math books at home with questions and answers?"

"Oh right! If you find one on calculus could you lend me tomorrow?" Itachi asked.

"Definitely. Oh! Why don't we exchange phone numbers? That way I can call you and tell you if I find one or if you have to 'borrow' one from the internet?" Ino suggested.

"Sure." Itachi said and took out his phone, giving it to her to enter her number. Ino did the same.

"You're phone is so cool!" she said as she typed her number in.

"Heh, yours is cute too." he said as he entered his number into the pink, flowerful phone in his hand.

"There." he said and handed hers back. "Yup!" she said as she finished entering hers and gave it back to him.

"Well I'll expect a text from you later then?" Itachi asked.

"Yup!" Ino said and waved as Itachi left the school building.

After he left she sighed as she fell back against the lockers.

"I got his phone number..." she said softly to herself as she held the phone to her chest.

"PROGRESS!" Ino shouted out and her voice echoed in the empty hallway. Hearing her echo she gasped and covered her mouth. Then skipped happily down the hall to get her things and leave.

**HERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER JAAN~ lol please review :3**


	18. Chapter 18 Kisses are Troublesome

**Dude cramps suck...but you probably already know that huh?**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 18

_**Narrator:**__ ...it seems like the storm is calming down...but if it stops, the cherry blossom will fall now, instead of at its destination..._

Ino sat on her bed looking at her phone. On the bed beside her was a math book on calculus.

_"Should I call him? Or should I text him? He said he was expecting a text but, calling wouldn't hurt, right? I don't know which one to choose I'm just so happy right now!"_

Itachi sat at his desk going through the questions he wrote down in class. A 'vrrrm' was heard and he looked up to see his phone vibrating on the desk. He picked it up and read the message.

"I found a book. I'll show you tomorrow. Come to school early! 3"

He smiled when he saw then message.

_"Awesome. I can still do this. Then I won't have to work for the rest of the term! There's still hope!"_

After reading the message he decided to take a break from reading math and get something to drink. As he entered the dining room his mood changed from hopeful to pissed. At the table sat Sasuke.

"Hey big brother, what's up?" he asked, pretending to be an innocent little brother who cared for his sibling.

"Hn." Itachi replied before telling the maid in the room what he wanted.

"That's my line. I thought you'd be in a better mood since you've moved on." Sasuke said before taking a sip of his drink.

"Moved on? What are you talking about?" Itachi asked. He thanked the maid for the glass of water.

"Yamanaka Ino of course. I personally hate her type, too clingy. I thought you shared the same interest as me, explaining Haruno Sakura." Sasuke said as he stirred the ice cubes in his glass.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't moved on from anything, especially not Ino." Itachi said coldly as he downed the water in one gulp. He slammed the glass on the table and left the room. The maid in the room quickly picked it up to prevent it from leaving a mark on the table. Sasuke offered her his glass as well, smirking at Itachi's back as the brother left.

The next day at school Ino arrived early and so did Itachi. She showed him the book and the two sat on a bench to look up the problems together. As other students started to arrive and saw the two they began to whisper.

The rumour that Itachi and Ino were an item was starting.

Pretty soon Itachi began to notice. Sakura arrived on time and when she saw them together she quickly looked away and walked briskly into the school building. Itachi slammed the book closed suddenly.

"? Itachi-kun what's wrong?" Ino asked, acting innocent and adding -kun to the end of his name, indicating her switch of fan clubs.

"Um, thank you for lending me the book you don't really have to help me with it so when I'm done I promise to give it back okay?" Itachi said as he stood up but Ino held him back by grabbing his arm [she does this a lot huh],

"But I want to help you! I don't mind, really!" she pleaded for him to sit back down but he refused.

"Look, I appreciate your help but personally, you're just sitting on the bench looking at me and it's really distracting." Itachi said, trying to pry his arm out of her grasp.

"Aww, you're so shy!" she said and giggled to herself. Itachi only sweat dropped, _"She doesn't get it at all..."_

Luckily, the bell rang for classes to start.

"Oh look there's the bell I gotta go okay? Bye!" Itachi said and sprinted off.

Ino pouted and crossed her hands over her chest.

After the first period Itachi walked down the hall, still skimming the book. He added bookmarks of folder paper at pages with possible questions he could use.

"Have you checked out page 35 yet? There was one on it that looked pretty easy. I think even I understood it." a voice spoke up.

Without looking up Itachi responded, "Oh yeah that one was easy but I want to keep looking if there's any-" he suddenly stopped talking and looked to his left to see Ino walking in time with him, a sweet smile on her face.

He sweat dropped, _"She doesn't get it at all..."_

Itachi looked forward and gasped. Ino turned her head to see what would make Itachi make such an expression but when she looked she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. When she turned back to Itachi, however, he was gone.

She panicked, turning around in circles and looking around everywhere but couldn't find him. When she realized he had tricked her she pouted and crossed her arms over her chest again, storming off down the hallway.

It was lunch time and Itachi had narrowed it down to five questions. He had decided to sit under a shady tree outside to have lunch in quiet while he eliminated questions.

"This book is really good..." he mumbled to himself.

"I'm glad it's useful to you." a voice chimed in.

Itachi froze, then looked up slowly. Ino waved at him and the boy jumped away from the tree with the book.

"I-Ino! What are you doing in the tree! Come down! I can see your underwear..." Itachi said while looking away.

"Oh really? I don't believe you. Tell me what colour it is~" Ino teased. She turned around so that her butt faced him.

"Stop joking around! Come down now!" Itachi demanded. Still looking away. He went closer to the tree and offered his hand to help her down. The blonde blushed and took his hand, using it to help her get down.

Sakura too had decided to have lunch outside and went to the tree she had previously eaten lunch at. Unfortunately, that was also the tree Itachi was at. Ino had pushed off the trunk of the tree and had an unstable landing, so she fell forward unto Itachi's chest. The boy grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

And, as if it was destiny, Sakura had made her way around the tree just in time to see that scene. Itachi stiffened from shock.

_"Why are you here Sakura? WHY!"_ he thought as he looked at the stunned girl.

Ino looked at what Itachi was staring at and when she saw Sakura she smiled to herself. She then pushed herself unto Itachi, "Oh Itachi that tree was so high!"

"Hey!" he said angrily.

Sakura gripped her tray tightly, and inhaled through her mouth and exhaled through her nose to clam herself. "Sorry I didn't know this spot was 'occupied'. " Sakura said as walked away.

"S-Sakura wai-!" Itachi shouted out but Ino put a finger on his lips. The boy looked down at her.

"You running out of time you know. Have you picked a question yet?" Ino whispered.

Itachi swallowed but pushed Ino away from him and picked up the book. She had a point, but he didn't want Sakura to have a misunderstanding.

Itachi walked away with the book leaving Ino by herself under the tree. She looked down and saw a bottle of water.

_"This must be Itachi-kun's! That means that if I take a sip of it...INDIRECT KISS!"_ Ino thought and squealed. She picked up the bottle and spent the rest of lunch break pondering on whether she should take a sip or not.

And so the time came for Math II. Itachi offered to go first so that Kakashi would mark him easier. When you're first there's no one to compare you to. He had decided on the one he was going to use after he left Ino at the tree and had memorized what he would say in his presentation.

When he was finished there was a silence. He gave Kakashi the marker and turned to face the class with anticipation.

Hidan stood up and the class looked at him, "I...I UNDERSTAND IT!"

When he shouted that out everyone jumped up and started to cheer and clap. They also began to praise Itachi for making it clearer for them as well. Kakashi stood up and ruffled Itachi's hair, "See? Math isn't so bad."

Itachi couldn't help but grin. No more work for the rest of the term! After Kakashi ruffled his hair, the guys ran down to Itachi and took turns noogie-ing him or patting him really hard [the manly way] on the back.

Through all the joy Itachi glanced at Sakura. She was sitting in her chair still, but she was smiling, happily. He literally felt his heart flip when he saw her like that.

_"That smile, I haven't seen it in so long..." _he thought to himself. He winked at her, a grin still on his face as Kisame noogie-ed him. When Sakura saw his wink she realized he was looking at her and she quickly looked out the window, an angry expression on her face. He only sighed and shook his head.

Eventually Kakashi cleared the mass of testosterone back to their seats, saying there were many other students who still need to present. As Itachi jogged down the aisle to his seat. As he passed Sakura he brushed her cheek with his fingers. No one saw his smooth action.

The action was so unexpected that Sakura flinched at his touch. She turned around with mouth open, ready to scold. But when she turned around Itachi was in his chair with his head being held up at the chin by his hands, his elbows on the desk.

"Yes princess?" he said raising his eyebrows.

He hadn't called her princess since the first day of school. This threw her off completely. She raised and index finger, ready to make a point. Itachi blinked twice, a goofy smile on his face. Sakura unfortunately had to give up. She hmphed and quickly turned around to pay attention to the students presenting. And alos to hide her blush.

_"He's acting like such an idiot! Why is he so happy! I'm supposed to be angry at him but right now...! UGH! HE'S SO...! UGH!...but, it would be nice if it could be like this for the rest of my time here at school..." _

_"She's so cute! Sigh, I feel so happy now. I managed to do the project and even though Sakura did it by herself and forced me to do mine by myself, it turned out for the best because now I understand calculus! And I don't have to worry about grades for the rest of the term! And I made her smile! Today has been a very good day...I hope it can stay like for the rest of our years together..."_

When class was over the guys who presented high-fived with those who presented yesterday. Hidan shook hands with Itachi representing a truce for the rest of the term as payment for teaching him math.

Ino ran up to the crowd and called out Itachi's name. Itachi and Sakura turned to see Ino running up to them. When Itachi saw Ino his happy grin disappeared instantly. When Sakura saw the miserable expression on his face she covered her mouth with her hand to prevent her laugh from spilling out.

_"So much for future boyfriend Ino...!"_ Sakura thought in her head.

"So how'd it go Itachi-kun?" Ino asked.

_"ITACHI-KUN? WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS!"_

Itachi decided that he wasn't going to let anyone destroy his mood today. Nothing could bring him down. He made Sakura smile today. Those were the thoughts in his heart.

"It was great. Thanks for the book." Itachi said and handed her the book. "Well you've been a great help. I guess you really do have what it takes to be a student council president. I wish you the best of luck in the elections for higher ranks." Itachi said as he shook her hand and quickly ran off.

"Bye! Bye Sakura!" he called out right before he disappeared.

Ino pouted again, _"Why is he avoiding me!"_

Sakura removed her hand and laughed out loud. Ino turned to her with a hand on her hip, "What's so funny?" she growled.

Sakura looked up and wiped a tear from her eye, "Oh nothing. It's nothing. I just found it so amusing how you said he's your future boyfriend yet he wishes you all the best like he'll never see you again and then runs off!" Sakura said before bursting out laughing again.

Ino became very upset, "He's- He's just in a rush to go home! He probably has some urgent business to attend to! He's an Uchiha after all!"

"Sure, sure." Sakura said as she brushed Ino off. She pulled her bag up on her shoulder. "Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow!" Sakura said cheerfully, feeling pleased Itachi said bye to her personally.

Ino didn't want to lose, "He's a good kisser you know!" she shouted out. Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. Ino smirked, "But I bet you knew that already. He **has** kissed you before, hasn't he? I mean you guys were together after all."

"...Wouldn't you like to know." Sakura bluffed, not looking back.

"No matter. Kissing is normal, but it can also be a sign that two people like each other. And like I said," Ino walked down the hall and stood beside Sakura, "he's a good kisser." She walked off with one hand on her hip, her hair long ponytail swinging back and forth like a cat's tail.

Sakura once again, stood in shock, "_I can't believe it. Itachi and Ino...kissed! What! When! If they're together then it's only been for two days max! That's too fast! I can't believe it! I won't believe it! No way! She's just bluffing!_" Sakura refused to believe Ino's words. She squeezed the bag straps as she walked briskly down the hall and home.

A few days later, Sakura was walking across one of the large expanses of green on the campus, when she saw Itachi and Ino on a bench nearby. The two of them together made her feel angry, but she reminded herself that she was Sasuke's girlfriend.

_"Because I'm his girlfriend, I don't care who Itachi goes out with...and because I don't care, there's no problem with sitting in between them and ruining the mood is there?"_ Sakura thought to herself as she walked towards them.

"Oh, Sakura!" Itachi called out and waved to her. She was about to wave but Ino turned around and the glare she sent Sakura sent chills down her spine. Ino the smiled wickedly and pulled Itachi collar to her and kissed him.

The other two were completely flabbergasted! [go British synonyms that sound so weird! XD]

Sakura didn't know what to do. She wanted to run up and push them apart then punch Ino in the face. But she couldn't move forward. Instead, she took a step back. She blinked many times, but, the picture didn't change. Instead of stepping forward, Sakura turned around and ran. As far as she could, as fast as she could.

Itachi pushed Ino off with such a force she almost fell off the bench.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Itachi shouted out. He looked back to where Sakura was standing but the girl had vanished.

_"Shit...", _"Shit!" Itachi jumped over the bench and sprinted after Sakura, wherever she was. He didn't even glance at Ino to see if she was okay. The blonde had scraped her knee on the edge of the bench. It wasn't bleeding but it was bruised.

Ino quickly looked around to see if anyone saw what just happened and sighed with relief when she found out she was alone in the lawn. She quickly scanned the windows and was glad to know that no one except for her, Itachi, and apparently Sakura, were sculling.

"Sakura! SAKURA!" Itachi shouted out as he ran frantically everywhere. He checked everywhere in the school he could think of. He searched continuously, even when teachers came outside to tell him to stop shouting because they were having class. Eventually he had to stop because the teacher for his next class found him and took him to class early, forcefully.

Sakura had hidden in the infirmary. Shizune couldn't figure out what was wrong with Sakura because the girl wouldn't say anything. She was too shook up. Shizune allowed her to use one of the beds to calm down. A few minutes later Sakura began crying. She sobbed and cried non-stop. This made the assistant nurse freak out even more. She kept asking what was wrong, think Sakura didn't like the mattress or something but the girl kept crying. She wouldn't say anything.

Shizune ran out to get Tsunande thinking she might be able to help.

Ino managed to hop her way to the infirmary and was surprised to see Sakura there. At first the blonde became angry and limped as fast as she could to the girl so she could blame her for the cut, but when she saw Sakura's tears she stopped.

_"Why's she crying? Was she possibly, hurt? So she's jealous then? Heh. Really Sakura?"_

"Why are YOU crying Sakura I'M the one who's hurt." Ino spoke with venom. Sakura stifled her sobs but the tears kept flowing. She looked up at Ino, the last person she wanted to see right now. She was really hoping that Itachi would find her and tell her it was a dream or something, but Ino found her first.

"Are you crying because you Itachi's cheating on you Sakura?" Ino asked in a baby voice. Sakura looked up at Ino. The blonde glared at her, "Well I've got some news for you girl: '."

Sakura's eyes widened and the girl looked down immediately.

"And he never was, was he Sakura? After hanging out with him, I understand a little. He treated you nicely and you fell for him didn't you? But he never asked you to be his girlfriend once, so it was just a one-sided crush."

_"Shut up Ino..."_

" Did you become Sasuke-kun's girlfriend to make him jealous? If that's the case then I can tell you it's working. But Sakura, I think you like Sasuke-kun too, don't you?"

_"Shut up...!"_

"You can't have them both Sakura. You selfish girl."

Sakura's eyes widened in realization. She looked up at Ino again. "I'm right aren't I?" Ino said smugly. "I don't know how you managed to get the eyes of both Uchihas, but I'm telling you from now that you better hurry up and choose one, because you can't have both of them. It doesn't work that way." Ino said, leaning closer until she was right in Sakura's face.

"I like Itachi. So I'm not going to just give up if you tell me you like him all of a sudden. If you do say that, then that also means that you've just been playing with Sasuke all this time. If you say you like Sasuke, then there's still Karin and the rest of his fan club to worry about. Itachi's fan club seem to be more passive than Sasuke's, but I'm not. After all, I WAS in charge of it before." Ino continued.

She leaned back and sat slowly on the bed across from Sakura so she could rest her leg. "So make a choice. It's not fair to anyone to keep stretching this out. Not to Itachi, and not to Sasuke."

As Ino finished her lecture Tsunande and Shizune entered the room.

"Oh Tsunande-sama! Could you fix my knee! I fell and hurt myself earlier." Ino said sweetly.

Sakura just sat on the bed in silence. Ino's words had cut her deep. She began to think if it was true that she was really just playing around with everyone's feelings.

"Oh Ino! Do you know what's wrong with Sakura?" Shizune asked.

"Oh she's just a bit nervous because we're getting our results for a really hard test back today." Ino lied smoothly. She smiled at Sakura, expecting a thank you or some praise, but her smile turned into a disgusted frown when she saw the petrified girl across from her.

"This is what you called me for Shizune?" Tsunande asked angrily. Shizune began to sweat, "W-well you see..."

"I'm going back!" Tsunande said to no one in particular and left the room.

"Tsunande-sama!" Shizune called out but got a door slammed in her face. She sighed, "Now I've dropped even further in her eyes." she mumbled to herself. Taking a deep breath in and out, she turned around with a smile and commenced healing Ino's knee.

**ANOTHER CHAPTER AREN'T I GRAND? lol Ino stirs up more It looks like she's here to stay! Sorry guys but the calendar says that Summer comes before Christmas so I've decided to give you two specials yay! The summer special, however, will seem more like a filler than being related to the actual plot okay?**

**Please revieW! :3**


	19. Chapter 19 Okay Here's The Plan

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 19

_**Narrator: **__...poor little cherry blossom, will it be massacred by the Queen...?_

Without anyone realizing, exams came and the school went into super study mode. Everyone was running around the place trying to find reference materials to finish last minute assignments or walking up and down the halls with book in hand, trying to cram. Everyone except Sakura and Itachi of course.

However, Sakura also remembered that she had a goal: to do so well in school that her father would recognize her, wherever he was, and come back home. Of course her mother didn't know about that. And so she decided to buckle down and leave the drama for later.

But ignoring drama doesn't work when one person isn't doing it. Itachi was still looking for Sakura to explain to her that what had happened yesterday was entirely Ino and none him.

Of course whenever Itachi is looking for Sakura he can never find her. Instead of finding her, Ino found him. While walking down the hallway, Ino popped up beside him happily.

"Good Morning Itachi-kun!" she chirped. Her voice was so shrill it made him cringe from such a high frequency. He decided to ignore her, hoping she'd leave but, she refused to be so 'weak', as she liked to call it.

"I said good mor-" she repeated as she tried to wrap her arm around his but as soon as he felt her fingers he flung his arm outwards, pushing her away. Ino slammed against the wall and Itachi followed after her. He made a fist and hit the wall hard with the side of it.

"Do you really think I'm going to let you just do anything you want to me after what you did yesterday? That was totally uncalled for and I suggest you leave me alone right now." Itachi demanded.

Ino, however, was smirking. "WHAT are you smiling at now you little-"

"You may be threatening me right now," Ino said as she put a finger to his lips, "but to everyone else, it just looks like your flirting with me."

Rage surged throughout the Uchiha's veins, but from Ino's comments he knew he was public, "Don't change the subject. Ever since you started hanging out with me, me and Sakura have only been getting farther. Give me one good reason why I should sacrifice my friendship for a vixen like **you**." Itachi spat.

Ino's smirk, however, only grew more, "Is it really just friendship Itachi? Is that really the reason you're so angry right now?"

"...What are you getting at?" the boy asked angrily, uncertain of Ino's motive.

"Why settle for a petty friendship when you could have more?" she asked as she ran a hand through his hair. He didn't like the action but he didn't want to have this conversation again.

"More?"

"You like Sakura, don't you?"

"Well, yeah. That's why I want back our friendship."

"No not that kind of like. Like as in, you really 'love' Sakura deep down, don't you?"

Itachi's eyes widened and he averted her gaze, trying to think. Ino softened her gaze to try and reach out to him, "You do don't you...? Right now, your brother is after her, and right now, friendship just won't cut it."

Itachi looked back at her with a serious face. This made her feel even more confident that she was right. She continued, "I know you might not believe it, but Sakura also has feelings for you."

Itachi stared at Ino with disbelief, then leaned up to laugh very loudly. After he clamed down, "That was a good one Ino." he said and started to walk off. The conversation was getting crazy and he didn't really want to continue it.

Ino grabbed his arm to stop him, "I'm serious! Look, I'm a girl who's seen drama long enough to know when a girl or guy likes someone! I was right about you wasn't I?" she said a loudly and nearby students looked at the two. Itachi quickly took her hand and dragged her down the hallway and out into the front lawn of the school where the conversation would be held in private.

"I don't know if you're lying or not. But, if it's true that Sakura...if it's true, then why are you telling me? Aren't you trying to get me to like you?"

Ino smiled, "Oh Itachi did you really think that way. I'm not really after you. I still like Sasuke-kun. And I can help you, if you help me. Understand?"

"So..."

Ino sighed, "We're going to pretend to be together to make Sakura jealous. Then you two will get together and I'll get Sasuke-kun." she explained.

Itachi nodded his head slowly to show that he was understanding the situation, "Well this will only work if Sakura really likes me, but what about Sasuke? You can't really expect him to get jealous of **you** with someone, when he can get anyone."

"Oh don't worry about that Itachi-kun. While you use me, I'll have more chances to interact with Sasuke-kun as well."

"...But we don't hang out together..."

"Well if you don't hang out together then Sakura will never get jealous because she'll never see us together..."

"...I don't really like this idea. What if it doesn't go well...?"

"Then, you can break it off and confess everything to her. But you have to at least give it a try first."

"...I guess I could. I mean, it's not like she'll give me a chance to talk to her."

"Exactly. She'll see that she really misses you when you show her that you don't need her anymore, and coming running back to you. Well I'll see you later, honey~" Ino teased and blew a kiss before walking off.

Itachi shuddered, then followed her back into the school building. Classes were about to begin.

_"I don't really mind which Uchiha I get, but as long as I get one of them then it's fine because we only need them for their wealth. I personally prefer Sasuke because Itachi's just too innocent to be a benefit in future plans. But it's for family after all. Maybe Itachi'll fall for me and I won't have to go through so much trouble...but he's a bit one-track...I guess I'm going for Sasuke then."_ Ino thought as she walked to class with a wicked smile on her face.

Ino ended up being late for class. Unfortunately, the teacher was an old woman who had no tolerance for late comers.

"Miss Yamanaka you are LATE!" the woman yelled at Ino the moment the blonde opened the door.

"No duh." Ino muttered under her breath. Some classmates giggled.

"WHAT WAS THAT!" the deaf old lady shouted out.

"NOTHING MA'AM!" Ino shouted back and the students laughed again.

"ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF MY HEARING YOUNG LADY!" the woman shouted even louder.

"Oh no ma'am! Never!" Ino said and began walking to her seat. When the woman saw her she called out again, "Oh no no no! I saw you outside flirting with that boy you are late to my class on PURPOSE! Stand at the back of the classroom until I tell you when to sit." The woman commanded.

"He's not just any boy Miss. His name is UCHIHA ITACHI." Ino boasted loudly. She looked at Sakura while she said it and smiled at the girl's reaction. The entire class gasped loudly when Ino told them and began talking amongst themselves, ready to set another rumour going.

"SHUT UP! DO NOT LET THIS DELINQUENT DISTRACT YOU! EXAMS ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!" the woman tried to shout above the children but failed and ended up having a coughing fit.

Sakura turned around to glare at Ino but when Ino responded by raising her eyebrows and smiling Sakura turned back around, feeling a little scared of the girl behind her.

As the days went by, Ino flaunted herself more and more around Itachi whenever Sakura was around, and since she told Itachi he didn't have to do anything, he didn't. And because he didn't, it looked like he accepted it. Sakura was indeed getting jealous, but Sasuke also noticed this and was indeed amused to see Itachi becoming slowly irritated with the clingy woman on his arm, his new accessory apparently.

Exams came and went and Sakura wanted to chop off Ino's arms when she saw the blonde literally glomp Itachi. It was the last day of school.

"Yay! Itachi-kun exams are over! How did you do?" Ino asked, full of energy.

"Uh...fine." Itachi answered, avoiding eye contact. He was looking around to see if Sakura was looking. Ino grabbed his chin and turned his face to her.

"You don't have to make it look so obvious you know." she said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah but-"

"Don't worry I know she saw my grand entrance."

Just as Ino finished speaking Sakura walked up to the group and purposely stepped in between the two. "Um, here's your book back Itachi. Thank for letting me borrow it for my Chem exam." Sakura said shyly while looking at the book. She extended it out and when he took it with a thank you their fingers brushed.

Sakura jumped and let go of the book instantly. The book fell to the floor. "Oh I'm sorry!" Sakura said and bent down to pick up the book but Itachi was already going for it and the two bumped heads.

"Oh sorry!" Itachi exclaimed and stretched out a hand to prevent her from falling. The two into each other's eyes. Itachi opened his mouth to speak but the movement of his face snapped Sakura out of her trance and she quickly stood up and stepped out of his half embrace.

"Is your head okay?" Itachi asked. He was originally going to tell her he loved her then and there, having not been that close to her since she was at his house. [in his room...on a bed...with him...LOL jk]

"Hmm? Oh y-yeah it's fine don't worry about it I have a strong head heehee!" Sakura babbled. She bumped into Ino and turned around to apologize but when she saw it was Ino she stopped her apology halfway, said excuse me and turned back around to talk to Itachi.

Ino scoffed at the action and walked around Sakura, touched Itachi's arm and telling him she was going to get her things.

"So um, exams are over!" Itachi said, trying to bring back up a conversation.

"Yup! Sure are!" Sakura replied, feeling the same awkwardness he was.

"So um, I don't want to push anything on you but, are you free in summer?" Itachi asked, avoiding her eyes by packing his chemistry text book into his bag.

"Me? Of course I am! It's summer! I'm a bum! I never go anywhere! My mom works all the time and I can't drive so it's not like I can go anywhere anyways HAHAHAHA!" Sakura said and laughed nervously.

Itachi wanted to laugh because he could tell she was nervous and it made him feel really happy but he didn't.

"Well since you're not busy and we've basically avoided each other the entire year, wanna hang out during summer?"

Sakura looked at Itachi and he could tell from her expression that she was trying to find some way to tell him no.

"Oh Sasuke's coming too so it's not like I'm trying to hit on you or something." Itachi quickly said before she could refuse his offer.

"Oh well...I guess I could..." Sakura said, feeling somewhat sad that Sasuke was coming but unsure as to why.

"Really? Great! Awesome! That's Perfect! I'll pick you up in two days time then!" Itachi said and ran off.

"Wait what? Where are we going!" Sakura shouted out after him.

"Just carry enough stuff for four days and a swimsuit!" Itachi called back before he turned the corner.

Sakura sighed. He was still as energetic and spontaneous as ever. But she couldn't help but smile as she took her things from her locker. She finally got to hang out with him. After all Sasuke had said at least for a while and the year was over.

_"Come to think of it, I've just gone through one year of high school...go me!"_ Sakura thought to herself.

_**[SOMEWHERE IN ANOTHER HALLWEH]**_

"Ino." Sasuke said as he approached the blonde at her locker. Ino glanced to her left and then back to her things to see if she should pay attention to them or not. When she glimpsed Sasuke she nearly dropped her things. She stopped the from falling out of her locker by pressing them against the locker with her hands. She did a double take in the process as well. When she aw that he was real she quickly stuffed her things back into her locker.

"Y-yes Sasuke-kun?" Ino replied anxiously.

"My family owns a hotel branch in the Caribbean and our parents are sending me and my brother for four days. I saw Itachi talking to Sakura and from what I overheard I'm assuming he invited her. So since we're apparently inviting each other's women, I'm inviting you to be in charge of him these four days." Sasuke explained.

"S-Sure I'd-"

"It's in two days so be at the Uchiha Mansion 9:00 sharp then." Sasuke interrupted and then walked off coldly. Ino, however, wasn't affected by his cold attitude. She went off into fantasy mode. Four days, Caribbean beaches, two Uchihas, Summer Love. She began to squeal and jump up and down like a mad fangirl, not caring what anyone thought of her.

Everyone just passed it off as her being extremely excited that school was done and quickly walked past her, trying not to get hit by one of her flailing arms of love.

And so exams were over and summer began.

**YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS GUYS. THAT'S RIGHT! IT'S SUMMER SPECIAL TIME! SPENDING FOUR DAYS AT A HOTEL WITH YOUR LOVER IS A DREAM COME TRUE FOR MANY GIRLS. WHAT WILL HAPPEN? IT'S SUMMER LOVE!**

**Okay this is a filler. There will be many surprises but it's not related to the main plot of the story, so don't get too into it please. And please Review! XD**


	20. Chapter 20 Summer Summer Special! XD

**OH EM GEH SUMMA SUMMA SPESHALUUUU! XD**

**aka Filler time lol. You know what the surprise is? Somehow, someway, and for some reason, EVERYONE'S still in this =.=" Oh and I'm changing this trip from four days to three days. So the day they go is the first, they spend a full one there, then leave the next day.**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 20 

-Summer Blossom Crisis-

_**Narrator:**_ _...summer should be a fun time for everyone...including cherry blossoms..._

When Sakura went home she went through her closet and decided that she hated all the clothes in it. So the next day she went shopping with her mom for new shirts, skirts, pants and even a new swim suit. She also bought a new pair of sandals. She returned home feeling very satisfied and that evening they had a yard sale in which she sold her previous wardrobe. Her mother didn't say one negative word. She was supporting her child one hundred percent because she knew it was for secretly for Itachi, whether or not Sakura would admit it. And she didn't mind adding an Uchiha to the family.

On the day of the trip, Sakura woke up extremely early and got ready as fast as she could. Her mother was just coming back from work. It was dawn. She tried to sneak into the house so that she wouldn't disturb her sleeping daughter, but was shocked when a pink blur flew past her and out the door.

She looked to see what the thing was only to find her daughter sitting on a suitcase on the front porch. She leaned forward on it, trying to see down the side walk.

Her mother sweat dropped then smiled. "If you had a tail I'm sure it would be wagging." Sakura turned around to grin at her mother.

"Sakura I know you're very eager to leave the country and I'm sorry we've never gone abroad but, I'm pretty sure Itachi isn't going to pick you up now." her mother reasoned.

"What? Why not? How do you know?" Sakura asked, very hyper and clearly not thinking so early in the morning.

Her mother just looked at her, "Child, the sun's not even up yet."

"Oh I can see some light between those two mountains-" Sakura said pointing in the direction but her mother took her arm and her suitcase with the other hand and dragged her inside. "Time for breakfast!" she said as she took the girl back inside.

Sakura slouched at the centre table of the kitchen, waiting for her toast. She leaned her head into her hand, elbow propped up on the counter/centre table.

Her mother was thawing out some frozen ham slices with the microwave. She glanced at her daughter before she put the food in.

"Oh come on Sakura it's not like the trip is cancelled. And it's summer! Did you even know I'm getting a break from work? That means we can hang out for a few days but nooooo, you get on the first train and abandon me without even asking permission first? You're lucky I'm such a lenient mother." the woman said as she typed the numbers in on the microwave and sat across from her daughter.

"You're really getting a break mom? When's the last time you got one of those...?" Sakura wondered.

"When I had you." her mother replied flatly before taking a sip of Sakura's orange juice on the counter. "Really? But that's...!"

"A good 16 years. Yeah I know."

"How can they let you work so long? Why can the hospital be so evil? Which one did you say you worked at again?"

"Uh...Toast!"

"Toast!"

"It's burning!"

"Oh!" Sakura jumped up and quickly grabbed her toast from the oven. She decided to toast it the long way because she was watching it but that didn't work out so well. Her mother sighed as the child groaned over her black bread.

_"That was close."_

"Oh well I'll just make another one and use the toaster this time." Sakura said as she went to the counter for another slice. "That's one of the reasons I said I wanted to be a doctor you know."

"Hmm? Blech." Her mother tried the toast but the ash tasted horrible.

"Because you're one too! I want to do the same thing as you, so I can experience what you're going through and then we can hang out more often because we'll be doing the same thing and have the same hours! Maybe dad will get sick and be one of our patients one day." Sakura said the last part to herself and laughed when she thought about her father wincing in pain as she healed him.

"Sakura about your dad-"

*beep*beep*

"Oh Itachi's here yay!"

"Sakura!" her mother called out but the child had already ran outside. Itachi stood at her gate. Sakura ran out in a wide necked white shirt that had yellow Polk a dots on them. She was wearing Capri jeans and white sandals.

"Hey! I'm ready let me just get my suitcase!" She called out and went back for it. Itachi raised his eyebrows. _"She's...cute."_ he thought and smiled to himself.

Her mother came out and hugged Itachi. "Hello there son how were your exams? I bet they were easy right? Especially with Sakura helping you with your math." she said, nudging his side with her elbow.

"Um S-Son?" was all Itachi could reply.

The mother only laughed and ruffled his hair, "Why of course! Please continue to take care of my daughter on your trip! Even though I finally got off from work and planned on spending some mother daughter time with Sakura, you take her along with you and 'explore' happily. I'll just...be here...at home...all alone... "

"Uh...Would you like to come?" Itachi offered. The woman froze. "Re...RE...REALLY! OMG YES OF COURSE LET ME JUST GET MY SUITCASE!" she squealed as she ran back inside.

Itachi sweat dropped, _"She already packed? That's kinda scary...am I that predictable? Or maybe it's all that spy training. Learning how to read people and stuff...am I really admitting I think she's a spy? Wow..."_

Sakura jumped outside with her suitcase, followed by her mother. Sakura turned her head slowly towards her mother, the smile still on her face. When she saw her mother smiling back at her with a suitcase in hand she turned her head back to Itachi, smile still on it. Itachi felt chills. Sakura's face looked scary.

"She 's coming?" Sakura asked. Her voice sounded strained with happiness.

"Yup! Let's go now we don't want to be late!" Itachi said and quickly took the two women's suitcases, careful to avoid Sakura's gaze. The ride to the Uchiha mansion was eerily quiet...except for Sakura's mom who kept yapping the entire way.

When they arrived at the mansion there was a small group of people at the stairs in front of the entrance. As Itachi exited the limo he gaped. Sakura then exited and did the same. Sakura's mother stood on the ground outside and followed suit.

"YAMANAKA!" Itachi, Sakura, and her mother [I so want to write their] shouted out simultaneously. Sakura and Itachi looked at each other with worried expressions after said girl smirked at them. However, they turned to Sakura's mother. After all, she shouted out Yamanaka as well.

The mother however wasn't looking at them. She stomped the pavement in her high heels and marched up to a man with blonde hair standing beside Ino.

"What do you think you're doing here Yamanaka?" she shouted, pointing a finger in the man's face.

"The same reason you're here Haruno. To enjoy summer vacation." The man replied calmly. The woman was silent but kept pointing in his face with an angry expression. She then turned around and crossed her arms over her chest, "I bet you came because you knew I was going and decided to sabotage my reputation in some way!" she shouted out into the air.

"Yes of course that's the reason." the man sighed.

_"How could that be the reason it was just decided that you were coming..."_ Sakura and Itachi both thought at the same time with a sweat drop.

Then Sakura realized, "Ino that's your dad!" she shouted.

"Duh. Who else could come along no matter what I say?" Ino asked sarcastically. Sakura looked at her mother. "Mom's dead." Ino said like it was nothing as she walked to her suitcase and picked it up to give to the driver.

"Oh...I'm-" Sakura started but Ino interrupted her, "Don't even bother with that 'I'm sorry' crap. It's not like you killed her. Not like you could've." Ino said smugly as she walked back and posed beside her father coolly.

A vein popped on Sakura's forehead. "What's that supposed to mean? It's not like she was superhero or something!" This was also clearly seen on her mother's forehead. "How unfortunate. She's just like you." Sakura 's mother said through gritted teeth.

"I know." the man answered happily and patted Ino's head twice. Itachi sighed. During this break in conversation Sasuke decided to walk down the stairs, a butler walking beside him with two suitcases. His mother followed behind him.

"Okay everyone's here so let's all go!" Itachi cheered and everyone started to enter the limos waiting to take them to the airport.

Mrs. Uchiha [lol] had the airplane tickets and so Sakura sat beside Sasuke and Ino beside Itachi in the same row. Fortunately, Sakura and Itachi had row seats and could therefore still talk to each other.

The three parents sat in front of them: Mr. Yamanaka unfortunately had to sit beside a fat man who was constantly sweating and trying to find a comfortable spot in the seat that was obviously too small for him. Sakura's mom just pointed and laughed, or grinned and teased him the entire trip.

On arriving, a limo with the word Uchiha in silver plating, pulled up for them. It was longer than previous two and could hold everyone. The trip went smoothly and Sakura took many pictures through the window.

"Sakura close the window you're messing up my hair!" Ino shouted out while holding her hair down to prevent it from whacking people in their faces. "But I've never been abroad before!" Sakura said, her voice sounding soft because her head was slightly out the window. Itachi held her chin with his index and thumb and turned her head towards him, "Don't worry you can take pictures of me instead." he said teasingly and Sakura's face turned pink immediately. She pushed away from him and wound up the window. She then proceeded to look through her pictures so she could avoid him.

However, Itachi leaned against her as he tried to look at her pictures as well which made her cheeks stay red for the entire ride. When the limo stopped the driver came around and opened the double doors simultaneously.

"Enjoy your stay." he said with a bow as the Uchiha family exited the vehicle. Following them was Sakura, who was pushed back into her seat by Ino and then followed by her father, who was pulled back in by his long ponytail and Sakura's mom and her left. Ino's father exited last.

"!" Sakura and her mother said in awe.

Itachi grinned and ran up to the two. Sasuke remained motionless, Ino beside him.

"You know this place has five Jacuzzis, a glass elevator and four 5 star restaurants each serving food from different parts of the world?" Itachi boasted.

"OMG REALLY!" Sakura and her mother turned to him with stars in their eyes.

"Yup!" he grinned. They held hands with each other and skipped in circles singing '5 star res-ter-rants'. Itachi's mother cleared her throat and the two pink-haired ladies stopped.

"Our rooms are already prepared for us and the bellhop is ready to take our luggage. Ino and Sakura will be in one room. My children will share another. The parents will have one room and I will have my own." the woman explained and walked ahead of the group.

Sakura's mother ran up to the woman, "Uh, wouldn't it be better if I share a room with you? After all, we're both ladies-"

"Better?" the Uchiha asked incredulously. She sounded so appalled Sakura mom dropped the question and walked silently behind her.

"Aww I wanted to share a room with Sakura." Itachi whined. Sakura blushed and turned to catch up with his mother. "What!" Ino snapped and Itachi flinched. "Ino! I meant Ino. Don't worry I was only teasing." he said and laughed nervously but the blonde flashed her hair in his face as she turned to chase after Sakura, her high heels slapping the pavement mercilessly.

Ino's father followed her, turning to glare at Itachi as he walked past. Itachi sighed and followed them as well. Sasuke sighed as he walked behind everyone. He wasn't exactly happy to be spending four days with everyone.

"What a coincidence that MY Sasuke-kun is here at one of his own hotels!" a voice shouted out and everyone cringed.

They turned around to see Karin running towards them.

_"Oh hell no..." _Everyone minus the parents thought. [However, Sasuke's mom was also thinking this]

Karin glomped Sasuke: the Uchiha trying his best not to fall in front of everyone without showing it. Suigetsu strolled up to the group, "Thought you could go vacay without us Sasuke-chan?" he said and grinned at the boy as if to say Karin hugging him was karma for leaving without notice.

Suigetsu observed the rest of the group, "Looks like the whole family's here this time. Even Sakura! And Ino...why are you here?" Suigetsu asked bluntly. Ino scoffed. She walked up to Itachi and hooked her arms around his, "Because we're going out of course!" she said, snuggling against his arm. Itachi tried to smile but it didn't work out so well and Suigetsu laughed because he instantly knew the situation.

"Sakura-san it seems you really have given up on Naruto-kun but you seem to have a knack for going for taken men..." a quiet voice said that made Sakura jump because it was right at her ear. She turned around to see Hinata smiling at her. Sakura smiled and quickly walked over to discreetly hide behind Sasuke.

"What are YOU doing here and why are you with the same group as MY Ssauke-kun?" Karin said loudly. She was starting to create an audience out of the people in the lounge. Mrs. Uchiha sighed and went to the registration counter to tell the woman behind it that she had arrived.

Sakura was going to speak up but Suigetsu quickly intervened, "Does it really matter Karin? You know you won't be able to take your eyes off me for the next two days anyways." Suigetsu praised himself. The red-head turned to him and scoffed, "You're still on that? I told you, MY Sasuke-kun is the only one for me, right Sasuke-kun?" she said and turned around only to see Sasuke walking away with Sakura and the rest of the group.

She clenched her fists in anger but her anger quickly disappeared when she felt a hand gently hold each fist. A voice whispered in her ear, "Don't get angry over nothing princess. Why don't you calm down in one of the Jacuzzis here?" She quickly jumped away from the voice and turned around.

"Whether I get angry or go to the Jacuzzi is none of your business!" she shouted very loudly out of embarrassment. "Oh your cheeks are so red that's so cute!" Suigetsu teased and Karin turned and stormed to the left.

"Jacuzzi's that way." Suigetsu said pointing to the right. "I knew that I was just-" Karin shouted and looked back in the way she was heading, "going to pick up one of these brochures!" she said and grabbed one of the slender advertisements from a little stand before stomping back past Suigetsu and to the right. Suigetsu sighed and followed her with his hands in his pockets.

As the group followed the bellhop to their rooms which were in another building, a voice called out to Sasuke again as they past the pool, "OOOOOOOOOOOIII! Sasuke-teme! Over here!"

Said Uchiha sighed before turning around to see Naruto in a pair of orange swim trunks on top of an inflated purple sea horse. "You're here too! What a coincidence!" the blonde shouted out and grinned. He then looked beside him, "Oh! Sakura-chan you're here too- why are you with Sasuke-teme!" the blonde said angrily.

"Saaaaaasukeeee-" he said as he moved to get off of the sea horse but the thing flipped over and dunked him in the water. The surrounding tourists laughed at him. Sasuke and his mother sighed simultaneously and continued walking. Everyone else waited to see that Naruto emerged safely before walking off.

"I-I'll see you later Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted out and waved at the group of people who had covered a large distance in a short time.

"Why is everyone here...? Did you invite _everyone_ Itachi?" Sakura muttered to Itachi.

"What you think this is my fault? It really is a coincidence! A very weird and not super awesome one but still a coincidence." he justified.

"Here are your rooms. You are each beside each other except for the madam. You are further upstairs ma'am. Follow me." the bellhop said and waited for the everyone to take off their things before walking down the hallway to the elevator with the Uchiha's mother.

After Sakura and Ino's parents went into their rooms, reluctantly, the four children stood outside.

"Why don't we flip a coin to see who gets to stay with who?" Itachi offered.

"And _why_ would we want to do that?" Ino asked, slightly irritated at Itachi's persistence.

"Well, you could get a chance to stay in a room with the guy you like for the next four days." Itachi offered. He took Ino's silence as a yes and took a coin out.

"You don't mind, do you Sasuke?" Itachi asked, raising an eyebrow at his brother. Sasuke didn't respond he just turned around and went into on of the rooms with his suitcase. Itachi sighed, "I feel sorry for his partner. Heads or Tails for Sasuke girls?" he asked, the coin on his thumb.

"H-"

"Heads!" Ino shouted out before Sakura could say it.

"Okay Ino's heads and Sakura's tails." Itachi said and flipped the coin into the air. He caught it on the back of his hand and slapped the other down to hide it.

"And the girl who spends the next day with Sasuke iiiiiiis..." Itachi removed his hand, "...Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. She then felt even more startled at feeling a bit disappointed. Everyone jumped when they heard a loud sound. They turned to see Sasuke dragging Sakura's suitcase into his room. The wheels made a sound as they crossed into the room.

Ino jumped on Itachi, "I get to live with Itachi for four days kyaa~" she squealed and she strangled the poor boy. Itachi looked at Sakura just in time to see her glassy expression before she changed it into a happy smile, "Well I'm going to go set up some stuff in my room so I'll leave you two love birds alone!" she said and excused herself.

As the door closed Ino pulled Itachi's shirt so that he was brought down to her level, "You **better** pay attention to **me** this holiday Itachi. If you get too close to Sakura she'll think you're a two-timer." Itachi swallowed hard but took her hand off his shirt and fixed it back to its original position, "You don't have to stretch out my shirt I get it." he said and reluctantly took her suitcase and his into the other room.

When Sakura entered her assigned room Sasuke was sitting on his bed and leaning on his knees, his fingers intertwined. He looked to the door with his eyes then smirked, "Thank goodness I didn't have to live with Ino for four days. I prefer you the most." he said. "Um...thanks! I'm glad I got this room too!" Sakura said happily and sat on her bed across from his. She pulled her suitcase up to her and began to rummage through it: she didn't really know what to take out.

"Do you think it would be a good idea to go swimming now?" Sakura asked as she looked for her swimsuit.

"Do you want to?" Sasuke asked as he watched her take out a mini bag to put her towel, sunscreen and swimsuit in.

"Well if everyone else wants to, I don't want to force anyone..." Sakura mumbled.

"This holiday is for you Sakura."

Sakura looked up, startled by the statement said by the boy across from her. Her face turned red when she saw he was already taking off his shirt.

"W-What are you doing!" Sakura shouted out. The door suddenly burst open and Itachi was standing in the doorway, "What's he trying Sakura!" Itachi shouted out. Ino followed slowly behind him, "Sakura don't be so loud no one wants to hear what you guys are doing you're interrupting other people's-" Ino complained but stopped when she walked into Itachi back.

There was awkward silence in the room.

"We were just going swimming. Would you and Ino like to join us?" Sasuke asked charmingly. Ino blushed behind Itachi and hid behind him. "Sure. You wouldn't mind would you Sakura?" Itachi asked. Sakura, whose cheeks were pink nodded dumbly. The couple left the room, bringing back the silence.

"Oh you don't mind if I use this night stand here right?" Sasuke said, already putting stuff on it. "Sure no problem there's another one right here!" Sakura said jumpily and began copying him.

A few minutes later the door opened again and a shirtless Itachi walked into the room. "Can't you knock?" Sasuke said, aggravated at his brother's actions.

"I forgot my sunscreen so I came to borrow yours since we're family~" Itachi said, singing the last part. Sakura was speechless. The two men were practically glowing.

"Fine." Sasuke said unwillingly and went into his suitcase for the sunscreen but realized it was on the nightstand. But it was too late. Itachi had taken advantage of this opportunity.

He stretched over Sakura's suitcase for the sunscreen on the small table between the two beds. As a reflex Sakura reached to pull up her suitcase cover to give him space so he didn't have to stretch. However, as she was going forward to reach she took in air sharply and sat back up quickly, her entire face a deep red. Itachi turned to her, still stretched out in front of her, "Oh. Sorry." he said, smirking and leaned up slowly.

She couldn't stop her eyes from watching his abs contract as he stood up and then relax. Itachi, feeling very satisfied, allowed Sasuke to push him out of the room. The younger Uchiha then turned to her, "I'll be outside. Knock when you're done." he said in a rather cold tone.

The harshness snapped Sakura out of her fantasy, "Huh? Oh, what? Oh! Right! Sure." she mumbled after realizing he was allowing her some privacy to change.

And so EVENTUALLY, after the awkwardness of taking turns to change in the same room, the four made it to the pool.

"Sakura-" Sasuke started but was rudely interrupted by a high pitched voice, "Oh what a coincidence that MY Sasuke-kun is going to swim now!"

The group turned around to see Karin and Suigetsu walking towards them. Without any warning, Itachi clamped his hand over Sakura's over and kidnapped her. He and Ino ran along the pool side quietly, leaving Sasuke to endure Karin and Suigetsu alone.

Karin of course didn't notice this kidnapping because she was too busy looking at Sasuke, but Suigetsu was practically on the floor laughing.

"What's wrong with you Suigetsu get a grip you're in public you know!" Karin scolded the boy. He bumped her leg while rolling and brought her back to her senses.

"S-Sorry..." he managed to say between laughs. Sasuke sighed and turned around only to get hit by a gust of wind. He growled quietly when he realized he'd been cleverly ditched and Karin was used as the perfect distraction.

And Karin was determined not to let Sasuke leave, so the Uchiha was forced to spend his first day with them.

Itachi, Ino and Sakura ended up running past the pools and made it to the hotel's beach. Ino stopped to lean on a wall and rub her feet from running too much.

"Hey why'd you kidnap me!" Sakura complained.

"That's why." Itachi said, pointing to a bundle of jet skis along the shore. A small building with a large blue sign reading "AQUA REG." was set up beside them. Itachi ran in and came out in a few seconds.

"Okay let's go!" he said and grabbed Sakura's hand before running full speed towards the flying boats of fun.

"H-hey! Wait! Don't forget about me!" Ino shouted out when she heard the revving of the jet ski engines. A guy was talking to them step by step on one beside them.

"Monkey see monkey do. If you need help just shout cause these things get pretty loud." the guy said. He gave off a cool aura that made you want to show off or show him you could be just as cool.

Ino took off her shoes and ran as fast as she could towards them so she could sit on the back of Itachi's jet ski but as soon as she reached they sped off. She grunted in frustration, threw her sandals aside, hopped on the last one and sped off after them.

"Hey wait! You have to register! Do you even know how to use one of those?" a guy from the aqua reg building called out as he ran down the stairs but he was too late.

_"I can't believe him! He's completely ignoring me for her! He has such a one-track mind it's frustrating! Aren't I his girlfriend? NOT her? She's with his own BROTHER? He could at least be a little more subtle with it!" _Ino thought angrily as she sped after them. She looked down at the machine in front of her.

_"If it wasn't for the fact that my dad is who is he is, I would've crashed a long time ago."_ She thanked her dad in her head and sped up to catch up to the other three.

"You guys are doing fine so I'm gonna let you go free for a bit. You got ten minutes! Other people want a ride too. See ya! Enjoy the rest of your stay!"

"Thanks!" Itachi and Sakrua called out to the guy as he turned around and sped back to shore. Ino blazed past him at such a speed he didn't even see her he just felt the wind. However, because she was going so fast, the waves she was making were so big when it hit the guy's jet ski he flew off and belly flopped the water. He emerged confuzzled.

Itachi looked over at Sakura and she grinned at him. She was enjoying her trip outside the country for the first time. He turned left and slightly bumped her jet ski.

"Hey!" Sakura called out but she was grinning so he knew she wasn't mad. She turned right and bumped against his back.

"What do you think this is, bumper cars?" a voice shouted out. Sakura looked back to see who the voice belonged to. It was very soft due to the loud engines. Itachi was about to turn left and catch Sakrua off guard when he was suddenly thrown forward and off his jet ski. Ino's blazing trail didn't slow down once and so she sped from the shore straight into the back of his jet ski.

He came back up coughing. "Itachi are you okay!" Sakura asked.

"Yeah...just peachy." Itachi coughed out. He wiped the salty water from his eyes before doggy paddling over to his jet ski. When he got back up he looked at Ino but the girl had already began to turn around her jet ski.

"There are other people who want to ride these things so let's head back to the shore." Ino said and waited for the other two to respond.

Sakura and Itachi looked towards the shore where they saw a large crowd of people: four of which were fighting over the jet ski their instructor went back to shore on. They nodded to each other that it was best to head back.

Right before they made it to the shore they got off the jet ski and pushed it to shore. As soon as the people saw them they sprang after the contraptions. The three children flinched at the barbaric action of the tourists and waded through the knee high water.

"I'm parched." Ino said dramatically. "Itachi-dear, could you get me something to drink?" Ino asked, clinging onto the guy's arm.

"Uh, sure. Sakura you want anything?" Itachi said, turning to the quiet and obvious third wheel.

"Hmm? Oh I'll have a Sprite." she said with a smile.

"And you?" Itachi said rather coldly as he looked at his supposed arm candy.

"Oh I'll have anything you're having~" she said, putting a wet lock of hair behind his ear. "..." Itachi didn't respond he just turned to leave and Ino let go when she felt him move away.

When he reached the bar and started ordering Ino turned around to Sakura, "You feel SO lucky since Itachi's paying attention to you, huh?" Ino said, crossing her hands over her chest.

"W-what? I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just having fun because I just went on a jet ski." Sakura retaliated, crossing her hands over her chest as well.

"Oh please. Don't think I haven't noticed. You've been intentionally interfering with our relationship."

"OUR relationship?" Sakura repeated.

"Yes OUR." Ino said with attitude.

"Well I don't remember ever hearing him say you were his girlfriend." Sakura said.

"Well he IS my boyfriend, whether you heard or not. Besides, you're not thinking of going after him just because he's single? I mean, it's not like YOU'RE single." Ino said, reminding Sakura.

"I'm not going after him. I just don't think YOU'RE right for him. So as a FRIEND, I'm protecting him from you and I'm going to help him find the right girl." Sakura said, feeling confident.

"I'M not right for him? Oh please, ANY guy should feel HONOURED to have me as his girlfriend." Ino said.

Itachi returned to see the two girls having a stare off. "Um...drinks, anyone?" Itachi offered, feeling a bit intimidated by the atmosphere.

"Why thank you, **boyfriend.**" Ino said with a smug expression while staring at Sakura. She took a sip of the drink, not taking her eyes off the girl in front of her. She suddenly spat out the drink. Sakura jumped back just in time to avoid the girl's spit.

"What is this!" Ino shouted at Itachi.

"It's a Pena Colada..." Itachi said innocently.

"What! I HATE coconut milk! How could you give me such a thing!"

"But you said you wanted what I was having and that's what I'm having..." Itachi replied again, just as innocent.

"Oh that reminds me of that song!" Sakura piped into the conversation.

"Oh I think I know which song you're thinking about." Itachi replied.

The two pointed fingers at each other and began singing at the same time, "If you like Pena Coladas, Getting caught in the rain, if you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain..."

"Ugh! BOTH of you have half a brain!" Ino shouted out and marched away, forgetting about her sandals completely. The two followed behind her, still singing and annoying the daylights out of her for the entire way back to the pool.

As they passed the pool they met up with the parents. "We're planning on having dinner now since it's getting pretty late. You guys should make sure you eat something before they stop serving dinner." Sakura's mother said and the three parents walked past them, Sakura and Ino's dad having a discreet thumb wrestling championship going on.

"I think I'll have dinner as well, **without** you all." Ino said and the two stopped singing. They looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and walked past her to the snack bar to get hot dogs instead of fine cuisine in the Italian restaurant Ino planned on going to.

After a bath and a few glances in the mirror, Ino felt a little less upset. She was also very impressed with the restaurant's appearance. "Dining alone ma'am?" the woman beside her asked, dressed in a white uniform.

Ino opened her mouth to say yes when a voice spoke up behind her, "No she'll be dining with me tonight." She gasped and turned around to see Sasuke in a tuxedo, standing behind her with a smirk. She was utterly speechless and how smooth he was being. He offered her his arm, which she gracefully took, and the two followed the woman to a table.

"What are you doing here Sasuke? I thought you'd be with Sakura." Ino whispered over the scented candle and flowers in the centre of the table.

"And you? I saw Itachi with her at the snack bar. Those two are something else."

"I know! They have the opportunity to enjoy 5 star meals in a beautiful restaurant with excellent and polite service, yet they choose to pig out on fatty foods at a shack!" Ino complained.

Sasuke smirked. For once he was actually finding a conversation with someone amusing without making them feel bad or teasing them.

Itachi felt a bit uneasy because Ino was humming happily to herself as she got ready to sleep and was out like a light in no time. Sasuke also didn't speak a word to Sakura before morning. And so The first night passed happily for everyone, minus the two spies who were constantly throwing smart remarks at each other's mistakes or flaws.

The next day Sakura woke up early to go jogging, as did her mother. The two laughed at the fact that they were so alike that they could read each other's minds.

"So Sakura, how has your first day away from home been?"

"It's been great! I got to go on the jet skis yesterday and since this place is all inclusive me and Itachi got free refills on all our drinks and even got seconds! We became good friends with the cook." Sakura reported proudly. Her mother smiled.

"It seems you and Itachi are getting pretty close huh?" her mother teased. Sakura's cheeks turned pink but she didn't shout back. "It's not like that. I'm actually going out with Sasuke-"

Her mother suddenly stopped her and held her by her shoulders, "WHAT? THE YOUNGER SMARTASS BRAT! WHY!"

She then began to shake the child mercilessly by her shoulders, "HOW CAN YOU BE SUCH A DUNCE CHILD SOMETIMES!" she shouted out as she shook her.

Sakura's head flopped back and forth violently. She eventually managed to stop her mother from dizzying her, "What are you talking about mom?"

Her mother sighed, "Well I supposed you DID get that from me...I didn't realize your father liked me until he sabotaged my work so I would stop focusing on it and listen to him long enough to hear him confess...I was still doing paperwork back then...such a long time ago..." her mother began to mumble as she looked out into the distance, reminiscing on her past love life.

Sakura only sighed and started jogging again. Her mother came back to reality and caught up quickly. When they finished the jogging trail they walked to the breakfast section by the pool of the hotel, "Well I'll just tell you this one thing Sakura: Sasuke is NOT you're destined lover." her mother said with a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Ooh! Pancakes!" the woman squealed and skipped off to steal the ones in Mr. Yamanaka's plate instead of getting her own from the stack in front. Sakura sighed again and walked over to the 'kids section' of the group to get her plate.

_"Mom always says something mysterious then leaves me hanging. What does she mean Sasuke's not meant for me? How come? And if not, who is? And how does SHE know who it is? Well I don't know if she does but she sure seems like she knows..."_ Sakura thought as she joined the buffet line for breakfast.

She noticed that her eggs and bacon formed a smiley face. She looked up at the woman serving her and the lady smiled. "Smile. It's summer." she said sweetly in a soft voice. Sakura couldn't help but follow. "Thanks." she replied before moving down in the line.

Itachi, Sakura, Ino and Sasuke sat at a table. Sakura was suddenly moved over to Sasuke's side and another table slammed into it. This table consisted of Naruto, Hinata, Karin and Suigetsu.

"Hey guys!" Naruto waved. The group looked at the other four, then sighed all together. "Hey! That's not nice." Suigetsu commented.

"Suigetsu why'd you move Sakura to the left I told you to shift her to the right I want to sit beside MY Sasuke-kun!" Karin complained.

"Well since you don't like Sakura's face you can look at mine now." he said and pointed to his face with a grin. Karin gagged at him before beginning to eat her meal. Suigetsu sighed before he started eating as well.

"Karin you might as well give up these two are becoming an item now." Ino said slyly. Karin and Naruto slammed her cutlery against her plate. "WHAT!" they both said simultaneously. Karin whipped her head in Naruto's direction and the blonde quieted down instantly, remembering lunch with her earlier on in the year.

"Since when! I REFUSE to accept that, that **this** is going out with MY SASUKE-KUN."

"He's not yours." Suigetsu replied instantly. Karin whipped her head around again to face him, "What was that!"

"Would you like to be mine instead?" Suigetsu flirted, running a finger along her cheek. Karin blushed and jumped up instantly. "I can't take this anymore I'm having room service!" she shouted and walked towards the rooms.

Suigetsu sighed and got up shortly after, "I'm gonna get a slice of cheesecake. She likes it a lot." he said, grinning to himself. "Just a matter of time~" he sang as he left the table and followed the girl, a plate of strawberry cheesecake in his hand.

_"Even though Karin's personality sucks, she's really cute with Suigetsu."_ Sakura thought to herself as she took a bit of her toast.

"Sakura." Sasuke said and the girl instantly turned to him.

"You're dirty." he said simply. She blushed as he brushed some crumbs off her cheek with a napkin. "Thank you..." she said shyly. Her mother came into her mind suddenly and she went back to eating her food quietly. Sasuke noticed this but didn't do anything.

Later on in the day everyone headed to the gold course. "Sakura have you ever played golf before?" Itachi asked. Sakura shook her head and Itachi smiled. He jogged over to her, "Well I'll be glad to show you-"

Ino cleared her throat very loudly and the two turned to her, "I don't know how to play golf either Itachi dear. Could you teach me? I'm sure Sasuke could help her." Ino said sweetly. Itachi grimaced and Ino gaped but he quickly ran over to her before she could say anything. He mouthed an apology to Sakura as the two walked off.

Sakura looked to Sasuke. The Uchiha was examining the clubs to see which one to use. He took one and handed it to her, "This one is ideal for beginners."

"Oh thanks...you just do it like this right?" Sakura said and whacked the poor ball into the distance. It made a ding in the sky and the lackey held up a sign that said 'SIX'.

"Whoops! Heehee." Sakura said and laughed nervously. Sasuke sighed and took another ball from the lackey, placing it on the ground in front of her. "Try again." he said simply.

Sakura put the club right behind the ball, moving it back and forth a little, like she saw the people on TV. She stiffened when she felt two hands on hers and heat against her back.

"Relax." Sasuke said as he rested his chin on her shoulder. _"Relax? RELAX? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT WHEN YOU'RE SO CLOSE TO ME!" _Sakura thought, but she tried her best to relax.

"Now, gently." Sasuke said as he moved her hands back and then forward slowly. The ball moved slowly but went half way down the small course. He let go suddenly and a wind conveniently blew making Sakura feel cold and then blush from realizing she missed the warmth.

"This beginner course is small so you don't have to hit so hard." the lackey explained.

Sasuke then turned around to the boy, "You help her if she needs anything. I'm heading to hole 21." Sasuke said, as if just noticing the boy's presence. He walked away with a club engraved with his name before anyone else could speak up.

_"So he's not going to help me anymore? But I'm sure Itachi would've helped me...wait! Why did I just think that? Ahh! Anyways, it's not that hard and Sasuke's right: these beginner courses are small so I don't need any special technique or anything..."_ Sakura thought as she followed the lackey to hole 2.

"Um, N-Naruto-kun..."

"!"

Naruto shouted out as he spiked the ball. It flew into space. The guy put a hand over his eyes to block the sun as he watched the ball disappear, "She's a beauty." he said in awe. Hinata played with her fingers as she thought about how to get his attention. She swallowed hard and willed herself to make a move. She pretended to trip and landed against his back.

"Oh! Hinata-chan are you okay? Did you trip over the little thingy you put the ball on?" Naruto asked. Hinata, whose cheeks were deep red, replied, "I-I don't kn-know how to play...c-could you t-teach me please?" she asked, looking down at her club.

"Sure!" Naruto said cheerfully and dragged the girl off to the first hole where she experienced a situation like Sakura and fainted. Naruto began to panic and the lackey helped him to take her to the hotel's medic station.

Ino sent the ball flying and it somehow landed into the hole. "Hole in One! Write it down." Ino said, turning around and ordering the lackey to record her score. 'That's five so far I'm winning Itachi~" Ino teased.

"I thought you said you couldn't play." Itachi said before hitting his ball. It landed near the hole. The trio walked to his ball. "I lied." Ino said bluntly.

_"I noticed..."_ Itachi thought as he lined up his next shot. He got it in on the second swing. "Itachi!" a voice called out from far away. Itachi turned around to see a small figure with pink hair waving. He waved back but Ino grabbed his arm and yanked it back down.

He looked at her angrily but she gave him back the same look and he sighed, giving up. "Let's hurry up and finish this." Ino said and walked to the next hole with a hand on her hip. _"For once, I agree with her. I wanna get this over with."_ Itachi thought as he followed.

After the golf game it was already lunch so the group decided to head back to get some food. Karin and Suigetsu were having lunch already and when she saw Sasuke Karin jumped up to call to him but before she could say anything she stepped on the edge of the table cloth and slipped. Suigetsu jumped up and swiftly caught her.

In an effort to stay up she grabbed onto his arm and shirt. They two locked eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. She blushed but stood up straight and took his hands off her. "I-I fine." she said stubbornly. He pulled back up her seat, "You don't have to go stark crazy every time you see him you know it's not like he responds...just enjoy your lunch first before you get all fired up. You'll need energy for it and you missed breakfast." Suigetsu commented. Karin sat in the chair he pulled up quietly.

"UH, thanks." she said, avoiding eye contact. Suigetsu widened his eyes in shock and shifted in his chair, "What's this? Sudden gratitude? Is it just the cheesecake talking?" Suigetsu joked.

"H-how did you know I liked cheesecake the best?" Karin asked again, still being stubborn and refusing to look at him. "I know all your likes and dislikes. It's a bonus to know them when you're trying to show someone they belong with you." Suigetsu admitted freely. Karin looked up at him in slight shock. He leaned his cheek into his palm and rested his elbow on the table, "Eat up. They're coming." he said, softly encouraging her. She blushed, still looking at him, but when everyone else arrived and sat at the table she went back to her stubborn self: crossing her hands over her chest and hmphing, "Whatever I don't need someone like you to tell me that I know I need nutrition to live." she said pompously.

She then proceeded to recommend meals to Sasuke and Suigetsu sighed before going back to his food. He turned to his left and saw Sakura sitting beside him.

"You know Sakura, I'm actually all for you and Sasuke."

Sakura choked on the water she was drinking. She accepted the napkin he offered her. "W-what are you talking about all of a sudden?" she whispered.

"Well think about it. If you get with that arrogant kid, Karin will have to give up on him. And when she does she'll realize that I'm better for her and be my girlfriend." he explained.

"So...you like Karin?" Sakura asked as she read the menu. "Of course not. It's just obvious that she's not going to end up with Sasuke and since I'm practically the only guy that talks to her and can put up with her, it's only natural that she'll end up with me." Suigetsu stated.

"Ehh...?" Sakura pondered and Suigetsu turned to her, "You don't really think that-"

"They have dishes on this menu that I've never heard of before!" Sakura said out loud and Suigetsu stopped talking. He then sighed, _"She's not paying attention...such a cruel child..."_ he sulked and went back to his food.

Ino said she wanted to go to the pool and Itachi and Sakura offered to get towels for everyone. As they walked they were randomly approached by a black man, "Hey guys I'm trying to promote Caribbean hotels by taking pictures of tourists enjoying themselves here. Would you mind me taking a picture of you?"

Itachi looked at Sakura and she shrugged her shoulders. "Sure." Itachi replied happily. "Great just pose together naturally." the guy said while turning on the camera.

He held the camera up to his face but then removed it shortly after, "Oh come on guys you look so stiff and why are you so far apart? Hold on to him!" the guy said, saying the last part to Sakura.

"W-what?" Sakura said out of shock. She stepped closer to Itachi so that their shoulders were touching. "L-like this?" Sakura asked, feeling extremely nervous. The camera man sighed and was about to correct her when Itachi put a hand around her waist and pulled her towards him, "No like this." he said as he did so.

"Ah!" Sakura said as she fell forward from the sudden tug. She instinctively rested a hand on his chest to stop herself from falling.

"Riiiiiiiiiight." the camera guy said from behind his camera, already setting up the shot. "Now get ready..." he said.

"Wait what like this? But-" her cheeks were pink.

"Say cheese!"

Sakura stopped talking and went into model mode: popping her leg and voluntarily leaning onto him as she smiled like she was the happiest girl in the world. Itachi's cool, laid-back smile matched well with her.

"Thanks guys! By showing pairs like you in the brochures and on television I'm sure more will come! You should come back during the Christmas holidays we give couples discounts during that time." the guy said and winked before walking off with his camera.

"W-what couples!" Sakura said, panicking but Itachi distracted her by pulling her along with him still by the waist, "Come on we need to get the towels. Don't think too much on it Sakura." he said as he smiled to himself.

"What do you mean don't think too much on it he mistook us for a couple! Doesn't that mean that other people here are as well?"

"And what's wrong with that?" Itachi asked seriously, leaning in so that he was so close to her face he could kiss her. Her cheeks lit up.

"W-well-" Sakura started but Itachi threw a towel in her face. "Hurry up!" he called out as he walked back, three towels in his hands. "H-hey!" Sakura called out as she ran after Itachi. The two ended up racing each other back to the pool but as soon as they reached it Sakura slipped on the wet floor and fell sideways into the pool. She threw the towels at Ino to keep them dry.

"Wha-" *boof* the towels attacked the blonde.

"Sakura!" Itachi called out and threw his towels as well as he jumped for her. As soon as Sakura's towel fell down from Ino's face, the three Itachi was carrying smacked her.

Sakura felt the water pushing against her from all directions as she spinned underwater. [I like how spinned sounds more than spun and since this isn't english class :p]

A hand reached for her head and pulled her close but her eyes were closed so she wasn't sure what was going on. After feeling like she was being flipped around she found solid ground and stood up. She rubbed her eyes and coughed. When she opened them she saw Itachi staring at her, his face very close.

"Are you okay!" he asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah I'm fine." she said, her face still pink. Her nose red from the water though.

"Well I'm not you guys messed up my hair!" Ino shouted out.

"Maybe you should sit out for awhile." he suggested as he led her to the pool wall, a hand behind her back.

"I'm said I'm fi-ine!" Sakura said. While she was saying fine Itachi had lifted her up by the waist and put her to sit on the wall. She looked at him to scold him but he was smiling happily at her. "Just dry off for now. Then you can cannonball in later and surprise everyone." he said softly. Sakura couldn't respond to his kindness. She was speechless. She mumbled a fine and got up, taking a towel from the bundle on the chair where Ino was sitting.

"Did you hear me I said you messed up my hair!" Ino shouted at Sakura.

"What does it matter you're going to swim and mess it up anyways." Itachi commented and the girl turned to him with a glare but said nothing. She angrily took off her clothes unappealingly and jumped into the water.

"You owe me." she said as she waded past him. Sakura dried her hair with a towel. Itachi followed Ino, "Owe you? For what?"

"For not getting angry or interfering with you flirting and caring for Sakura so much." Ino stated as she sat on one of the small stools in the water by the bar.

"How about I make it up to you by buying you something that you actually like to drink?" Itachi offered.

"Hmm...fine. I'll let it slide this time. But you better not slack off! No more fooling around you're mine until further notice!" Ino said, pointing a finger at him.

"Yes your majesty I will serve you." Itachi mocked as he sat on the stool beside her.

"I'm serious you know!" she whined. "I know you are." he said before taking her legs and resting them in his lap.

"Wha-!"

"I'll have one Pena Colada and a Strawberry Daiquiri for the lady?" Itachi said, and looked at Ino who nodded, blushing.

_"Even if he's one-tracked...he still knows how to treat a lady...I'm kinda envious of Sakura..."_ Ino thought as she had a friendly conversation with the elder Uchiha. Something she rarely did.

Sakura became upset when she saw the two together but Sasuke didn't give her a chance to stay upset for long. He was sitting on the extended chair across from her. He slung a towel around her neck so that she faced him.

"You're having dinner with me tonight Sakura."

The girl blushed, "Excuse me?" she said, taken back by his suddenness.

"You'd rather not?" the boy asked and Sakura immediately said she wanted to go.

"Excellent. We'll go to the Italian restaurant because I'm sure you'll like it." he said and Sakura nodded. The boy then got up and started to walk away.

"W-where are you going?" she called out.

"I'm going to get ready first." he replied.

"Now?" Sakura asked again.

"It's already 6:30."

"Really?" Sakura said, surprised that sunset hadn't even happened yet and it was 6:30. Sasuke nodded before turning around and walking off. Sakura decided to take a tour around the place and a dip in one of the five Jacuzzis Itachi bragged about to give Sasuke some time.

At 7:15 Sakura went back to the room and knocked on the door. She didn't hear anything so she opened the door quietly. The sound of the shower could be heard so she decided to quickly grab some things and get ready in her mother's room while the two were out.

As she took her clothes out Sasuke emerged from the bathroom in formal pants with an open belt loosely around his waist and a towel around his shoulders.

"Oh I didn't hear you come in." the boy said without any emotion as he went to the closet and took out his undershirt.

"Oh it's okay I was going to get ready in my mom's room-"

"I'm done in there so it's okay you can go."

"...uh sure..." Sakura replied hesitantly and slowly entered the bathroom. She stood in the small sub-room but didn't move.

_"I don't care if he's not affected by it or not how can Sasuke expect me to be comfortable and stripping in the same room as him! What if he comes in! It'll be like before with Itachi!..."_ Sakura stopped her thoughts when she remembered that day with Itachi and took out her phone to look at the picture on the screen.

"I'll be waiting for you at the restaurant. I already made reservations for 8:00." Sasuke called out and Sakura jumped, almost dropping her phone.

"O-Okay!" she called out and waited for the slam of a door before she sighed and began to take off her clothes.

Sakura wore a red sleeveless dress that hugged her tightly and had a slit that stopped just above her knee. There were also sequins along the edge of the bottom of the dress along the slit and around the v-shaped collar of the dress. She wore diamond earrings and a silver necklace with a small diamond pendant. She combed her hair into a messy bun and taking one last look in the mirror to see how much of her black heels were showing, she headed towards the Italian restaurant.

"Itachi I want to eat in the Chinese restaurant." Ino demanded.

"Um, okay go eat in the Chinese restaurant." Itachi said, not paying attention to her as he began to change his clothes to order room service then sleep.

"But I want to go with you~" Ino whined. She held onto his shirt and looked at him with puppy dogs eyes. "You owe me~" she continued.

"I thought the drink was the payment." Itachi replied but she kept begging so he eventually gave in. The two got ready fairly quickly and went to the restaurant. On the way they bumped into Sakura.

"Wow Sakura you can actually look nice." Ino remarked and Sakura turned around. She was about to reply just as sourly when Itachi complimented her. "Wow you look...beautiful." he said with a smile that made her heart flip.

"Th-thanks..." she said breathtakingly.

"**We're** dining together in the Chinese restaurant tonight." Ino said, clinging onto Itachi's arm.

"Well **I'm** having dinner with Sasuke in the Italian restaurant." Sakura said back.

"Oh that one? I had dinner with him yesterday there. Looks like you're the **second girl** to have a 'romantic evening' with that Uchiha."

"Well I'm glad he didn't use me to **experiment** on. It's obvious he was just going to see what the place was like before he invited me to go with him."

Ino scoffed and flashed her hair before walking away and taking Itachi with her. Sakura smiled to herself for winning a battle against Ino and proudly walked into the restaurant.

"Dining alone ma'am?" a woman asked, dressed in a white uniform.

"No I have reservations for 8:00 with Uchiha Sasuke?" Sakura replied in question form.

"Right this way." the lady said smiling.

"You look stunning." Sasuke said as he stood to greet her.

"She blushed at the compliment, "Th-thank you."

_"Well at least she can dress to the occasion."_

The night went by slowly but steadily. Sakura was pleased with the risk she took in ordering something she couldn't pronounce and saved the name in her phone for future reference, however, there was no conversation between her and Sasuke.

Ino and Itachi also didn't speak during their meals. The mood was depressing and the atmosphere dead.

"Um excuse me I'm just going to uh, powder my nose." Sakura said as she stood up, using a line she'd always heard the women on TV say.

Itachi also pushed back his chair and stood, "I need to pee." he said frankly. "Ugh I did NOT need to hear that while I was eating." Ino replied, disgusted by the bluntness of the man in front of her.

"Well it's better than lying nicely about powdering my nose." Itachi said and walked off before Ino could respond.

Instead of heading to the bathroom, both decided to get a breath of fresh air. When they exited the restaurants that were conveniently situated across from each other they ran to each other.

"You're getting some air too?" Itachi asked.

"Yes it's suffocating in there!" Sakura replied.

"I know what you mean when I'm eating with Ino I feel like I'm constantly being watched so I have to act extra polite and careful. It's like being with my mom!"

Sakura laughed, "That's what I felt except meals with mom are unpredictable because one day you'll get toast and the next you'll get a hairbrush."

"And you're speaking from experience?"

"Yup."

The two laughed and didn't realize that they had strolled away from the restaurants and onto on of the decks by the sea.

"Oh you can still see the last rays of sunset." Sakura said pointing out.

"If you look up you can see the stars." Itachi said, already looking up.

"Oh they're so beautiful." Sakura said in awe.

"I think you outshine them all." Itachi said and Sakura stopped looking up to look at him, "Oh come one now you sound like you're from a cheesy movie or something." Sakura said and laughed off the awkward feeling she was getting.

"I'm serious! You look really nice tonight." Itachi insisted.

"Really?" Sakura asked.

Itachi nodded. Sakura and then looked up, "Oh a shooting star!"

"Make a wish." Itachi whispered.

Sakura closed her eyes and wished that her destined lover would hurry up and reveal himself. When she opened her eyes Itachi told her that if she wished for anything except for an orange penguin, he could probably get it for her. She laughed and the two continued talking for awhile.

After half and hour Sasuke and Ino exited the restaurants at the same time and walked to each other.

"Have you seen Itachi?", "Have you seen Sakura?" they asked each other and stopped when they realized.

"It seems we've been ditched." Sasuke admitted.

"Again." Ino growled.

Ino sighed, "I give up on him."

"Already?" Sasuke teased.

"Hey it's not easy you know!" Ino shouted back. The two were walking around the place.

"And you think Sakura's a walk in the park?"

Ino sighed, "Those two are MEANT for each other. Why are you trying so hard Sasuke? Do you really like her that much?"

"Like her? Not in the least. I'm just showing her that she's in love with me. When she's head over heels for me that'll she'll firmly deny my brother, I'll drop her in front of everyone and bring her back to reality."

"That's you plan? Kinda harsh."

"Everything I want is mine Ino. And currently, Sakura isn't."

As Sasuke said that they reached back to the rooms and saw Sakura and Itachi sneaking back into the rooms.

"ITACHI HOW DARE YOU DITCH ME FOR SAKURA!" Ino shouted out and ran into her room to start beating up Itachi.

"Sakura." Sasuke said and the girl turned around and bowed low to apologize, "I'm sorry! I just went out for some air and then I met up with Itachi and we got a carried away and-"

"It's okay."

Sakura stood up, "?"

Sasuke leaned in close to her "Even though you lied, it's okay." He walked past her and into the room.

She felt her heart sink from guilt and closed the door slowly.

That night Sakura, Itachi and Ino went to sleep with many things to think on. The next day everyone boarded a morning flight back home and went their separate ways at the airport.

"Thank you so much for inviting me Itachi! I had a lot of fun!" Sakura said.

"It was my pleasure."

"You didn't invite your own fiancée Sasuke?" Mrs. Uchiha whispered to her son. Sasuke didn't respond.

Ino went up to Sasuke and his mother, "Thank you for inviting us." Ino said, speaking for her father as well.

"Your welcome." the mother answered.

"Don't think I'll be treating you nicely just because you performed the Heimlich manoeuvre on me last night during dinner Yamanaka." Sakura's mom threatened.

"I would expect no such kindness from someone like you." the man replied just as coldly.

"Good. It was done excellently."

"Why thank you."

"But it STILL changes nothing!" she pointed in his face.

"Of course."

"Well I'll see you in the new school year! Enjoy your holidays everyone!" Sakura called out as she headed into a taxi with her mom.

**TADAA! THE SUMMER SPECIAL IS OVER BUT THE RELATIONSHIPS HAVE GROWN FOR EVERYONE! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT! XD**

**I'm currently entering a two year course that determines whether I go to university or not so I'm sorry but I don't really know when I can update the next chapter to this story. I don't want to make any promises but I can at least say you'll get chapters in Christmas. I know that's VERY far away but I can't slack off when I'm surrounded by nerds! I'm sorry guys but until further notice, this story has been put on hold. HOPEFULLY I can put up something by next month but don't get your hopes up guys.**

**PLEASE REVIEW THOUGH I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF MY SPECIAL IT'S 25 FLIPPING MS WORD PAGES AND OVER 10,500 WORDS LONG SO PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU LIKED IT XP Wish me luck I have exams coming up! .  
**


	21. Chapter 21 Autumn's Here!

**YES I KNOW YOU TEMPORARILY LOVE ME FOR UPDATING XP**

**Disclaimer: me don't own Narunaru :(**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 21

_Narrator:_ _...summer's over and now it's autumn. The cherry blossom's journey won't be so lonely anymore...a warm rainbow of leaves also make their way to the ground..._

_"New term, new classes, new teachers no wait, the same teachers, same lack of friends, the same prejudice, everything's the same. There's just new classes."_ Sakura thought as she walked down the corridor.

Students still made faces of disgust on seeing her, showing they still didn't welcome her into the school. Sakura sighed and continued walking towards her locker to empty her new rental list.

"Sakura!" a voice called out that made the girl jump. She turned around to see, Karin?

"Hey there Sakura-chan!" Suigetsu said and stepped out from behind Karin with his famous shark grin.

"Uh, hey?" Sakura answered cautiously. She didn't know what was going on but she didn't think it was going to be good.

"You don't have to act so scared we're not going to hurt you...yet." Karin said sweetly with a smile that made the pink-haired girl cringe. Suigetsu gave her a disappointed look and she said 'what?' in response.

"Ignore this woman Sakura. I still haven't tamed her yet-"

"Excuse me?"

"We're actually here to tell you that since you and Sasuke-kun are now an item you should start hanging out with us more so the school can see it's official." Suigetsu continued, ignoring Karin's outburst.

Sakura blinked her eyes twice, her expression blank. She was trying to process the information she had just received. Accepted? By Sasuke? AND Suigetsu? AND KARIN?

"WHAT! NO WAY! NO WAY IN HELL WILL I BEHIND THIS THING!" Karin shouted out and Sakura's jaw dropped, totally offended.

"Thing! How DARE you! I'm just as much a human being as YOU claim to be." Sakura retaliated. Karin scoffed repeatedly, trying to make a comeback.

An argument spewed between the two once Karin found something to say: Karin shouting loudly, as if volume could make her win; and Sakura, answering with witty remarks, temporarily winning until Karin thought of something again.

Suigetsu sighed and looked to the right, praying for some form of relief. Fortunately, Sasuke happened to walk through the doors at that exact moment. "Wow...he really is a demigod...he answered my prayers!" Suigetsu said in awe, tears welling up in his eyes.

Suigetsu took Sakura's hand and proceeded to walk down the corridor and said aloud, "Let's go!" As he walked past Karin he put a hand around her waist which she pulled off just as smoothly. As the three walked Suigetsu kept trying to put his hand around Karin's waist but failing.

"Sasuke-kun!" Suigetsu called out and frolicked towards the Uchiha before Karin could slap him for the last time he tried and grabbed her butt. Sasuke turned his head from his locker and easily dodged Suigetsu's glomp. The boy face planted his locker door.

He rubbed his face in pain, "So mean~"

Karin then began to skip a little as she walked towards him. Sakura stood there wondering if Karin would also hit the locker and a bit nervous about approaching the Uchiha. Sasuke noticed Sakura right when Karin was about to wrap her arms around him. He ducked and walked around the red-head.

"Sakura. How was your summer?" Sasuke asked, walking towards her. As Sasuke ducked and walked past Karin, the red-head ended up hugging Suigetsu. The boy raised his eyebrows twice at Karin when she looked up at him from her hug. The girl's expression immediately changed to nausea and the girl quickly let go and started for the bathroom, screaming. Suigetsu ran after shouting, "Oh come on it wasn't that bad! It's not like I have cooties~!" he teased as he chased her.

_"Sakura this is all your fault! I'm going to get you back for this! But I can't attack her directly because everyone thinks MY Sasuke-kun and HER are together! I hate it!"_ Karin thought as she sprinted down the corridor away from the shark boy behind her.

On her journey to the safe haven known as the bathroom she encountered a black haired boy.

The two exchanged greetings as they past each other.

"Ketchup-head."

"Flirt."

_"That guy is so stupid. My hair is no shade close to that tomato based thing!...!If I use Itachi to get hurt Sakura indirectly then it's perfect! MY Sasuke-kun will finally ignore her for caring for that guy more than her and then I'll have him all for myself! Plus! MY Sasuke-kun doesn't like him either."_ Karin smiled to herself as she saw the girls' bathroom door and rammed into it. It pushed open and recoiled, slamming Suigetsu in the face.

"The face again~?" the boy moaned in pain.

[**IN THE HALL]**

"So..." Sakura started.

"What do you have first?" Sasuke asked.

"Chemistry." Sakura said sadly.

"I'll walk you there." the Uchiha said with a smile.

Sakura blushed and nodded and the two strolled to the Chemistry lab.

**[AT THE BATHROOM cuz sasusaku is boring and we all luv Suigetsu :p]**

"~" Suigetsu called out. He was sitting on the floor and leaning against the door.

"Go away!" Karin shouted out from inside.

"Class is going to start soon and I know you don't want to be late on your first day!" he called out into the empty hallway again.

Karin sighed to herself. He was right. She was known for her perfect attendance and she wanted to keep it that way.

"I personally wouldn't mind spending a detention with you but-" the door suddenly opened and Suigetsu fell back against a pair of legs. It was Karin's, but when he looked up he didn't see her face. Well, he could but he wasn't looking there.

"PERVERT!" Karin screamed out and slammed the door back. It whacked Suigetsu on the head like a bat. "OOOWWWWWWWWWWW~! AGAIN! WHAT IS IT 'WHACK SUIGETSU ON THE HEAD DAY!" the boy shouted out, rubbing his head.

Someone who overheard him shout went up to him and whacked him on the head for the heck of it, then quickly ran of giggling. Suigetsu whipped around to murder the boy but he was already gone.

After the pain subsided he got up and looked at the door. "Oh come on!" he shouted out when he realized she was back inside and everyone was going to class.

He looked at his watch and saw there was only 5 minutes left till class. He looked around and saw an empty hallway.

"Hey Karin, is anyone in there apart from you?" he asked the door.

"No it's just me, why?' the door replied.

Suigetsu kicked the door open, "Okay let's go!" he entered the room. From behind the closed door the sounds Karin made as Suigetsu tried to get her out made the poor , unfortunate student walking past think she was being raped.

Suigetsu lifted Karin up caveman style - on one shoulder. She kicked her legs and beat his back with her fists in an attempt to get down but it was useless. Suigetsu walked casually out of the bathroom and down the corridor with the girl on his shoulder.

"Ooh nice legs~" Suigetsu teased and grinned when Karin screamed in frustration but she went silent suddenly when she felt something wet on her leg.

"Yum."

"...!

SAKURA I DON'T CARE HOW BUT THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Karin shouted out in the empty hallway.

**[LUNCH]**

As Sakura got her lunch she left the cafeteria to have her lunch under the tree outside under which so many memories were made. As she reached the tree someone waved at her with a grin.

"It's Sakura-chan!" Suigetsu called out.

Sakura smiled, _"Why am I seeing these people so much? I don't really want to have lunch with Karin, but the trek here was long and tedious...and I really can't bother go back now."_ she thought as she kneeled and placed her drink on the ground beside her, her sandwich in hand. Shortly after Sasuke joined the group. However as soon as he sat Suigetsu jumped up, "Oh! I just remembered! Come Karin!" he said and pulled the girl up, running off towards the cafeteria.

There was an awkward silence between the two. Sakura took a bite of her food to occupy herself with.

"Sakura." Sasuke said seriously.

"Hmm?" she sounded, mouth full of bread and ham.

"I know it might not be anything but, I noticed that last year, and even on the trip, you spent most of your time with my brother...do you like him more than me?" Sasuke asked, showing a sincere expression as he looked at the puffy cheeked girl.

Said girl almost choked on her food. She beat her chest several times and held a finger up for him to hold on while she swallowed the large glob of food in her mouth. After clearing her throat and coughing a bit she spoke up,

"It's not like that at all!"

"What is it then?" Sasuke said, his eyebrows furrowed as if he cared.

"Itachi is the one who always appears out of nowhere and ends up occupying my attention for some reason."

"So I'm boring then?" The Uchiha asked, as any man would in a drama.

"Huh? No! Of course not! That's not what I was trying to say! It's just that, um, we're just friends!"

"Really?"

"Really. You should trust me more you know..."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He brought his head up sharply, "Yes. I should."

"You should?" Sakura repeated, confused at the sudden submission.

"Of course. It'd be horrible of me to assume you were lying every time I asked you something. Giving you a chance to prove yourself innocent is something expected of me, right?" the boy said as if he swatted it out of a book.

"Right..." Sakura replied slowly.

Before anything more could be said a loud shriek sounded from the nearest building and Karin burst through the doors of the cafeteria. Suigetsu was not far behind.

As she reached to the tree she practically collapsed into Sasuke's lap. She gripped his shirt and tried to bury herself in it, "Sasuke-kun save me!" was the muffled shout that came from the red-head.

Uncomfortable with a slightly sweaty girl in his lap and thick, sticky hair in his face Sasuke asked, "From what?"

"That!" she shouted out and whipped her head around to point at Suigetsu, whacking Sasuke in the face with her hair. "Oh how rude! I'm not a 'that'." Suigetsu said, offended. He crossed his arms over his chest. On seeing the black spikes of a chicken butt he opened his mouth once more,

"And get off of Sasuke you're suffocating the poor boy." as he pulled Karin off.

"Oh my god are you okay Sasuke-kun I'm so sorry!"

Said boy coughed a bit and removed a strand of red hair from his mouth. After inspecting and identifying it's owner he spat on the ground and wiped his mouth before standing up, ready to leave.

"I washed my hair this morning so its clean Sasuke-kun! You didn't have to spit..." Karin mumbled the last part. Suigetsu patted her head, "Even though you abuse me and call me that, I think your hair is wonderful all the time."

Sasuke quickly excused himself and Karin soon followed after, feeling humiliated. She kept a distance between Sasuke and herself as they walked in the same direction.

Suigetsu sighed a plopped on the ground beside Sakura. He then turned his back to her and lay back, resting his head in her lap.

"Hey!" Sakura reacted, giving the boy a what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing look. She was about to push his head off but she paused when he cringed dramatically, "Please don't hit my head everyone's been doing that all day! Not you too!"

She didn't know how to respond to that, so she just sighed. When he felt her body relax he stopped cringing and made himself comfortable.

"Thank you, " Suigetsu said, "why can't Karin be like you sometimes?" he said more to himself than to Sakura.

"What do you see in her?" Sakura said in reflex and covered her mouth as soon as she said it. She then began to apologize, "I'm sooooo sorry I didn't mean it like that I just-"

"It's okay I know," Suigetsu cut her off, "She really is a handful and it's obvious that she's trying really hard to not give me the time of day, but, hmm..."Suigetsu trailed off.

After a few seconds of silence passed before Suigetsu came to the sudden conclusion, "You know...I really DON'T know..." Suigetsu said thoughtfully. Even thought he emphasized on the 'don't' he didn't mean it in a bad way at all. He just really DIDN'T know.

"Have you ever tried looking at other girls?" Sakura attempted to offer advice. She looked around to see if anyone was going to start a rumour about her and the boy in her lap.

"Not really...I guess the main reason is that she's going to need someone to be there for her the day Sasuke finally gets fed up with her and tells her off. She clings to him like crazy; prevents any other girl from approaching him; and declares her love for him so loudly everyday and moment she can. It's kinda hard not to notice. One day I think he's just going to snap and she'll be so mortified she won't know what to do with herself. But instead of committing suicide because she feels like there's no point to her life anymore, I'm trying to get her to look away from him before it's too late."

"...Wow." was all Sakura could say. The wind blew the hair of the two. Suigetsu looked at the leaves of the tree dancing above him.

"See? Guys can be thoughtful too." he said with a grin. Sakura scoffed, "Yeah right the day Itachi shows consideration not just pigs but elephants will fly too."

"He's already started to change. Haven't you realized?" Suigetsu said as he sat up and fixed his hair with one hand.

"Changed? What do you mean?" Sakura asked, bewildered at the previous statement. "As far as I'm concerned, he's still the same idiot I met on my first day." she said as she stood up and brushed the dirt off her skirt.

Suigetsu passed her empty bottle that was on the ground. "Well, the bell is about to ring soon so I'm going to head to class. Talk to you some other time maybe!" Sakura called out as she walked towards the classrooms.

"You too! Hurry up and choose! It's not fair to drag things out you know!" Suigetsu shouted in reply. Sakura stopped and turned around, "What?" she called out, slightly freaked at how that sentence applied to her life so perfectly.

However, Suigetsu only waved in response before laying back onto the grass once more, his hands behind his head, eyes closed.

She took a step to ask him what he meant but the bell rang before she could even put her foot down. She sighed in slight frustration from being unable to interpret what he meant. Sakura stared at him for a few seconds, wishing she could join him and for once, forget everything that happened to her since entering high school, then turned around and headed to class.

**[YES THIS STORY HAS NOT BEEN ABANDONED, ONLY POSTPONED ;)]**

**HEY GUYS THANKS TO EXAMS I GOT NO HOMEWORK TODAY SO I GOT TO WRITE UP A CHAPTER WOOT! But, unfortunately, exams start next week and don't end until, like 5 days before Christmas - no wait, *takes out calendar* - are you flipping serious my holiday actually starts FIVE DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS?**

**WHAT KIND OF FLIPNESS! XO!**

**SIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH O**

**Well, until then, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'll be trying really hard in my exams so wish me luck! Your reward for wishing me luck will definitely be a new chapter! And just to increase the suspense, Karin's plot involves a pool, and itasaku pairing, and the reason I decided to write this entire story in the first place XD**


	22. Chapter 22 ItaSaku time lol

**OH EM GEH STORI UPDEIT TAIM! XD**

**Sooooooo, how many people have been waiting for this! I know I haven't been...*cough***

**So I read over *cough*skimmed*cough* the first 3 chaps and realized something, I've forgotten about some stuff! So I'm bringing that back in to make the chap long lol. Oh and if you're like me and don't really feel up to the whole itasku pairing, just go back and read chapter 3 you'll like the pairing again x3.**

**Without further ado, I will now try to end this story within 4 chapters...LESDO DIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSS! ITASAKU TAIM WOOT WOOT!lol**

**crowd: fightin~!**

**disclaimer:** NARUTO I DON'T OWN AND NEVER WILL. this story's too sappy for ninjas man...

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 22

_Narrator__: ...even though the falling leaves try to steer her back on the right path, the cherry blossom is too lost within the hurricane the Uchiha fan seems to be causing, forever lost amongst its winds..._

Sakura walked home from school, glad there was no Math II that day. She couldn't get Suigetsu's words out of her head.

_"Choose? Between what?"_ Sakura thought as she headed home.

As she opened her door a voice called out, "Sakura! Guess what! I'm home early this time!"

Sakura dropped her bag out of shock. She looked up at the person, then sighed with relief, "Oh mom it's just you." she said as she picked up her bag and closed the door.

She then dropped her bag again and spinned on her heels, "OMG it IS you! IN THE FLESH! YOU'RE REALLY HERE! IN THIS HOUSE! RIGHT NOW!"

"WE GOT THE POINT YOU KNOW!" a voice shouted out from outside.

Sakura clenched her fists tightly, trying to let it slide. She found a smile and put it on her face, "So mom, what's the occasion?" the girl asked as she fell into the couch beside her mother.

"No reason in particular. Just finally managed to get the boss to give me a break." her mother said with a wide grin.

"Mom that looks so fake," Sakura commented on her mother's grin. The woman laughed, "You know me too well even if I don't spend a lot of time here." as she tickled Sakura.

"So how's it going with your boyfriend?" her mother teased. Sakura's cheeks lit up, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on I know you and Itachi are really close."

"Itachi? No we're just friends I'm Sasuke's girlfriend." Sakura corrected her mother.

Her mother paused, "...Really?" Sakura nodded.

"...Go do your homework I know you got some today!" she said as she pushed her daughter out of the chair.

Sakura let herself fall to the ground, "Fiiiiiiine~" she whined and reluctantly got up. She dragged her feet as she walked to the stairs, making it look like her shoes were the heaviest things in the world.

"Not buying it." Mrs. Haruno said as she folded on leg over the other and turned on the tv. Sakura sighed and stomped up the stairs. Her mother smiled wickedly at her but as soon as the girl was out of sight she threw her head back against the sofa and sighed loudly, "Sasuke? Really? What happened while I was gone? Was it the trip? I knew I shouldn't have let that Yamanaka distract me so much..."

**[NEXT DAY]**

Sakura woke up with a head ache but took some aspirin and headed to school quietly. Her mother was nowhere to be found so she just assumed she left to work again.

She hurried to school, late because she was looking for her mom. As she walked down the everlasting walkway towards the school someone called out, "DAAAAAAAAANG!"

Sakura paused and looked at the guy. He was looking behind her. She looked around and saw lots of other people were also looking behind her. She finally turned around and her eyes widened in shock at the scene in front of her.

school skirt had been shortened; school shoes now replaced with brown cowboy boots that were elevated slightly; dazzling jewellery on hands, ears and neck; star stickers on her cheeks; short purple hair now had pink streaks.

Hinata strutted down the wide catwalk, new gucci handbag clinging to her right shoulder, left hand on hip. Her silver hoops jumped with her freshly cut bangs as she walked towards Sakura.

"Good morning, Haruno Sakura." she said as smoothly as she could. But just as she was about to walk past Sakura the girl tripped and landed flat on her face.

Sakura gaped and a herd of boys ran to help her. They all shouted out things like, 'Hinata-sama! Are you hurt!' 'Call and ambulance!'

Sakura covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes closed really tightly. She wanted to laugh so badly but she knew that she'd be group glared and isolated for the entire year if she did.

A hand grabbed her and sprinted into the school building. As soon as the two were inside the hand let go and the two people let their backs slam against the lockers as they guffawed so loudly.

"OMG I CAN'T! STOP! LAUGHING!" Sakura said in between laughs.

"I know!" the boy beside her said.

After a good amount of minutes the two calmed down. They both sat on the floor, still leaning against the lockers. They had quieted down then started back up when they looked at each other countless times.

Eventually the owner of one of the lockers rudely commanded Sakura to move and the two returned to their original selves. The boy stood up and helped Sakura up after. They talked as they walked down the corridor.

"Thank you so much Itachi. I just knew it wouldn't be pretty if I started laughing right there but the building was so far I don't know if I would've made it!"

"I know I saw the whole thing from the gate and when I saw your face I knew you were about to explode instantly."

"Hey that's not nice you know!" Sakura scolded.

"mmm, yeah I guess, but when you close your eyes and pout you really do look like you're about to explode." Itachi teased but Sakura didn't laugh with him.

He looked at her and saw her eyebrows furrowed. She wasn't happy at all.

"Wait, are you really upset about the comment I just made?" Itachi said slowly. They'd stopped walking.

"Of course I am! Which girl wouldn't be?" Sakura answered.

"You know, you've changed." Itachi said softly.

"What? What do you mean? I haven't changed at all."

"I thought I was just thinking things arlier today when I saw you about to laugh but, yes you have. I used to tease you like this all the time and you used to just blow it off. You used to always say you'd get me back or something. Now you just get angry and serious...like a girl."

"Well I AM a girl." Sakura said and crossed her hands over her chest.

"Whatever. See you in class later." Itachi sighed and walked down the corridor.

Sakura instinctively reached her hand out to grab his shirt but something held her back. She watched him walk down the hall and turn the corridor.

_"Why does it feel like I just broke up with him? And why do we keep getting on wrong terms with each other! This is so lame! As soon as I decided to be stronger about being Sasuke's girlfriend-"_ Sakura eye's widened in shock.

_"Is...is that it? It...it couldn't be..."_

Sakura slapped her cheeks twice before readjusting her bag and heading off to class.

**[ENGLISH CLASS YO]**

"Mister English man I don't understand your nonsense!" Naruto shouted out at the teacher.

"Naruto you don't have to shout we can all hear you when you 'whisper'. And you are to call me Iruka-sensei not 'Mister English man'. Now, what is your question?"

"I usually use this book to help me but it doesn't have what you're talking about!" Naruto shouted out his question, totally oblivious to the other children's dying eardrums.

"And what book is that now?" Iruka asked nonchalantly, his back to Naruto as he wrote down another sentence on the board.

"THIS BOOK!"

"Hey! That's MY book!" Sakura called out. "Why do YOU have it?" Sakura asked and Naruto jumped.

"Oh it's yours?" Naruto said, totally caught red-handed. He slowly closed the book and looked at the name at the front, "Oh would you look at that? Haha, what do you know it IS your book! Here you go Sakura-chan!" the blonde said, tears running down his face as he grinned.

_"There goes my opportunity to get a date with Sakura-chan~"_ he thought.

Sakura took the book back, confused as to why he was crying.

Just then in bell rang and the class ran out before Iruka could give them homework.

As Sakura walked down the hall a voice called out to her, "Sakura-san!"

Said girl turned around to see Hinata walked towards her.

"Uh, hey Hinata what's up?" Sakura said. She couldn't help but smile remembering what happened earlier today.

"It seems I overestimated myself. It will take some time to get used to this transformation..." Hinata said in her robotic voice, "But!" she pointed a finger at Sakura, "Naruto definitely noticed me today so I have officially surpassed you! Acknowledge your defeat and step DOWN!"

Sakura sweat dropped. She really couldn't believe this was happening, "Um, sure-"

"Say it!"

"I acknowledge my defeat Hinata."

"Good. I hope we can be friends from now on." Hinata said with a confident smile, her hands on her hips.

"Sure why not?" Sakura played along, even though she assumed they were already as close as they could get in this school.

"I'll be waiting for you after school. We can walk to the limousines together." Hinata said and walked past Sakura as if she never talked to her in the first place. The pink haired girl didn't even get a chance to reply.

Sakura just shook her head and walked down the corridor, _Crazy people..."_

**[MATH II CLASS WOOT]**

"Sakura!" a guy shouted out as Sakura entered the classroom. A group of guys got up and quickly ran to her,

"Please tell us you guys didn't have a fight again Itachi's not talking much and-"

"Guys! Why are you rudely blocking the only lady we have in our class?" a voice said rather loudly even though it belonged to the person right behind the crowd.

The boys jumped and the crowd parted to reveal Itachi resting his butt against a desk: his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"Welcome to Math II Miss Haruno," he said smoothly and held out a rose. Sakura blushed and all the guys sitting down got up and ran to the door where the action was.

"!" They all shouted out as they grouped around.

"Aren't you going to take the rose Sakura-chan?" Kisame nudged her forward. Sakura stumbled forward and in an attempt to stop herself she grabbed the rose stem. Itachi reached out an arm and stopped her face from crashing into it.

"Ow!" she let out a soft cry and quickly stepped away from Itachi. The boy's eyes widened for a second in shock. In the same second he dropped the rose and pulled her fingers to his lips.

Sakura took in a sharp breath, her cheeks even redder as she felt a tongue move gainst her finger.

"Keep it PG 13 guys this story's can only go up to a rating of T you know!" Kakashi ruined the moment as he obliviously pushed the men out of the door way as he made his way to his seat.

"Here is a bandaid Sakura. You won't be in need of Itachi's services anymore." Kakashi said as he handed the pink haired girl a bandaid.

She blushed even more and turned to the silver haired man, "Sensei!"

"Yes, yes, now everyone to your seats we have a lot to cover today!" he called out as the boys fought over their seats.

"My tongue can heal but that's not all it does~" Itachi whispered in Sakura's ear and the girl had so close to a minute long fit her pencil was thrown across the classroom.

"Sakura no missiles in the classroom." Kakashi said in a normal tone without taking his eyes off the board in front of him.

"Wa- But! Ugh!" she exclaimed in frustration and put her head on the desk.

Itachi snickered behind her. She suddenly had an idea and quickly sat up and turned around in her seat.

"You know, I don't have your phone number. What is it?" she whispered.

"Huh?" Itachi said. She caught him of guard for a minute. After he told her she nodded and put her head back on her desk. The confused Uchiha put his phone on his desk because he couldn't bother put it back in his bag and went back to copying notes off the board.

All of a sudden there was a loud sound and everyone turned around to see Itachi fidgeting with his phone. Turning off a phone becomes difficult when you're panicking to do it quickly.

Itachi held up a hand and apologized, sweat dropping at his own stupidity. Kakashi sighed, "No phones are to be used in class either."

Itachi looked at the message he got on his phone.

_"Why don't you put your phone on silent dummy ;p"_

He looked at the girl in front of him and could hear her snickering quietly to herself. He gaped, then smiled and looked around to see no one was paying attention. He then picked up his book and whacked her on the head with it.

Sakura instantly sat up holding her throbbing head, "Oww! I can't believe you did that!"

Kakashi sighed, "What is it now?"

But the two ignored him, but they were smiling as they argued.

"What are you talking about it was YOU who sabotaged me with your phone!"

"I don't know what your talking about my phone isn't even on!"

"Guys." Kakashi tried to intervene.

"The message is from you stupid!"

"You have no proof you don't even have my number that could be anyone! And that gives you no right to throw a missile at me!"

"Guuuuuuuys~" Kakashi tried again.

"I didn't throw a missile it was my text book." Itachi said looking out the window trying not to laugh.

"I can't believe you hit me in the head with that phone book!"

"Well Kakashi only said don't throw stuff my book didn't leave my hand-"

"CLASS IS DONE EARLY LET'S GO!" Kakashi shouted out and everyone started to run out.

The two stopped immediately to grab their things and run out but Kakashi stopped them, "I know both of you haven't finished writing off the notes and questions so you're both going to sit there and write them now. Now one of you leave before. I'm serious. Because of kids like you I go home to Ir-uh, to my bed with a head ache!"

The teacher left and the two solemnly sat and reopened their notebooks. They both sighed simultaneously, then looked at each other, and began to laugh.

"That was so stupid!" Sakura said, a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, but it was fun." Itachi grinned at her.

"It was. I haven't had fun arguing about something so irrelevant in a while."

"That's because you keep hanging out with Sasuke and his friends." Itachi said in the same tone as if it was normal.

"Huh? What was that?" Sakura asked, the smile still on her face.

"What?"

"You just said something about Sasuke didn't you?"

"Pssh, why would I talk about HIM? I'm way better to talk about."

"You know, you changed too."

Itachi looked at her a bit more seriously, "How?"

"Even though you're still an idiot, you don't make such witty remarks about your brother around me anymore. This is about the first time you've said something like that in a while."

"Is that the kind of guy you want?" Itachi said softly.

"Hm? I can't hear you you said that a bit softly." Sakura said.

Itachi looked at Sakura with a serious expression but she didn't catch his eye, "Sakura-"

"Oh sorry I forgot Hinata's said she wanted to walk with me to the limo park area after school. She must be waiting on me right now! I'm sorry Itachi but could you write off the homework and send it to me later?"

"...sure."

"Thanks by-"

"Sakura!" Itachi shouted and stood up.

"Wh-what is it?" Sakura asked, wondering why he was suddenly shouting.

"Let me see your hand again." Itachi said softly and held out his hand.

Sakura put her hand with the injured index finger in his palm. Itachi turned it over slowly and looked at the small seam forming. He brought it to his lips and kissed it gently one time.

Sakura blushed instantly. "I-Itachi...!"

"I'll see you tomorrow Sakura-chan. Don't get hurt again." Itachi said with a small smile that made her feel a little pain in her chest. She took her bag and walked towards the door, looking back at Itachi once more before turning the corner and leaving the classroom.

After Itachi finished writing the notes he packed up his things and left the building. He looked around outside to see that most of the children had already left.

He put his hands in his pockets, but someone sighed before he could. He turned to the right to see a girl sitting on the steps, her head propped up by her hand that rested on her knee.

"You..." Itachi started and the girl turned to him, "wouldn't happen to be Hinata..." and trailed off as she began nodding her head. Itachi cursed under his breath and turned back, sprinting down the corridors.

"SAKURA!" he called out over and over as he ran throughout the school.

"You're gonna pay now Sakura. I told you I'd get you back for what you did. Plus, that new attitude you seem to have found is really annoying. Just because MY Sasuke-kun talks to you, that doesn't mean YOUR his girlfriend. So step off!" Karin said.

"He's not yours so why don't YOU step off! Let me go!" Sakura retaliated as she tried to pull free from the iron grip of the large boy holding her hands behind her back.

"You're so stubborn. I'm going to make you regret saying that. Deal with her." Karin said, waving a hand in the air before walking out of the pool house. "Have fun~" she teased before leaving.

As Karin walked across the large lawn from the pool building to the classrooms Itachi saw her figure and called out to her. She jumped when she heard her name, thinking she was caught already.

"KARIN!" Itachi shouted one more time and she stopped walking, trying to act calm. She turned around with a fake smile on her face that twitched slightly out of fear.

"Itachi what are you doing here this late it's already sunset!" Karin asked, "I know let's walk to the limousines together!" she offered but Itachi wouldn't let her take his hand.

"Where is Sakura."

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb. Even if you're good at it."

A vein popped at Karin's forehead and with a strained voice continued the conversation, "Even if I did know where that stupid girl was, do you think I'd tell you?"

"AAHHH!" A scream came from the pool building suddenly and Itachi looked in the direction of the sound. When he looked back he already saw Karin running away. He called out to her but realized that she wasn't important right now.

Inside the building the guy was trying to hit Sakura. She had managed to avoid the first punch but in dodging she had fallen to the ground. Even though the boy was large, he was quick, and before Sakura could think of what to do to save herself he was already in front of her, hand slamming down.

"Leave her alone!"

The shout startled the boy and Itachi used the hesitation to his advantage, punching the boy square across the face. He knelt down beside Sakura for a moment,  
You okay?" she nodded dumbly, wondering where the boy in front of her came from.

"Itachi? W-what are you doing here? Are you really protecting that commoner! No one in her year even cares for her why are you!" the boy shouted out.

His bangs shadowing his face, Itachi replied coolly, "No matter what, NO girl deserves to be hit. I wouldn't let any girl in general receive such punishment from a guy."

"But, she humiliated Karin!" the boy retaliated.

"So? That girl needs to be embarrassed once in a while. It keeps her head on earth. You shouldn't let your crush force you to do things like this. This isn't the way to get someone to notice you." Itachi said.

"Ho-How dare you! Even after you know how much she likes your brother! I...I'll do whatever she wants if it'll make her happy!" the boy shouted as he charged after Itachi.

Itachi easily dodged his punches but became concerned because the boy was beginning to smile.

"I have an advantage over you Itachi."

"What's that now?" Itachi replied easily as he dodged another throw.

"I'm not protecting anyone."

"!" Itachi hadn't realized the boy had been driving him back on purpose. The boy quickly changed directions, throwing his punch towards Sakura instead.

"Sakura! Move away from the pool edge!"

"?" But Sakura's reflexes were very slow that evening for some reason or the other.

"Payback time!" the boy shouted as he closed in on the poor girl.

Itachi cursed under this breath because he knew what would be the consequence but ran anyways. He pushed Sakura out of the way and took the blow for her, landing in the pool in a back ways belly flop [back flop sounds lame you know]

"Itachi!" Sakura called out.

"Serves him right. Talking like that. Now for-" the boy said as he turned to Sakura but the girl had instinctively dived into the pool after Itachi and left the boy alone. He growled and looked around, the and stomped on a pair of glasses on the ground.

Sakura emerged from the water with an unconscious boy in her arms and struggled until she reached the shallow-ish end where she could stand. She climbed out and pulled him out.

"Itachi wake up! Itachi!" she shook him as she shouted. The boy realized that hurting Itachi wasn't part of the deal he made with Karin and that it wouldn't turn out well if everyone found out it was his fault so he quickly dashed out of the area, abandoning Sakura and Itachi.

"Itachi Please!" Sakura pleaded as she pumped the boy's chest but nothing happened.

_"I don't want to do this. It's my first kiss too...but Itachi's an important friend!"_ Sakura thought as she curled her bangs behind her ears and took a deep breath before pressing her lips against Itachi's.

[LET'S GIVE THAT A FEW MINUTES XD]

Sakura sighed with relief when Itachi began coughing uncontrollably. He opened his eyes to see Sakura face staring right back at him with a smile.

"You look hot wet." he said with a smirk and Sakura giggled. He reached a hand out to her and cupped her cheek, "Thank goodness your not hurt." he said with a smile.

"Me? I'm more glad YOU'RE okay. Now I won't have to worry about what to tell you're mom." Sakura laughed. Itachi sat up and ran a hand through his hair to keep back his bangs, "She wouldn't care..."

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"Ah! I can't believe I took a punch for you! Now my face is ruined! My beautiful face! Maybe if it was yours but not mine!" Itachi said as he rubbed his cheek.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Sakura shouted out and pouted, "Thanks to you falling into the pull my glasses are broken! That bully crunched them!"

"You wouldn't have had to if you just kept your mouth shut instead of arguing with Karin all the time." Itachi said calmly.

Sakura looked away, unable to come up with a comeback, "Whatever..." she mumbled.

"It doesn't matter," Itachi said as he leaned back onto Sakura's lap, "You look better without them." he said with a grin.

Sakura blushed but then Itachi ruined it by making another retort. She lifted his head, moved her legs, then let his head go. The boy's head hit the floor and he gripped it with both hands, "Owww! What was that for! I'm complimenting you!"

**FLASHBACK**

"Really. You should trust me more you know..."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He brought his head up sharply, "Yes. I should."

"You should?" Sakura repeated, confused at the sudden submission.

"Of course. It'd be horrible of me to assume you were lying every time I asked you something. Giving you a chance to prove yourself innocent is something expected of me, right?" 

**END FLASHBACK**

Sakura's smile disappeared as those thoughts ran through her head. She got up slowly and fixed the skirt that was sticking to her legs.

"Where are you going?" Itachi asked, still lying on the floor.

"Home. I have homework." Sakura replied coldly. She didn't look back at him.

Affected by her sudden harsh tone, Itachi became concerned. "It's late. Let me drop you."

"It's that's okay. You already saved my face by taking the blow for me with that guy. You don't need to help more."

Itachi got up, "And you rescued me from drowning so now we're even. I'm just doing this out of courtesy."

"Well I don't want your courtesy. Why have you started treating me so nicely all of a sudden-"

A hand slammed against the wall beside her and Itachi was suddenly leaning over her, "And why have you started treating me so coldly all of a sudden?"

"..." Sakura didn't know how to respond to that. She was actually hoping he wouldn't notice. She didn't know what she had such a flashback and wanted to hurry and go home so she could sleep it off.

"Look, whatever I did wrong within what, the 7 seconds from the smile you had on seeing me open my eyes I apologize. But I insist you let me take you home because that guy might still be outside and I'm serious when I say I don't want you getting hurt."

Sakura didn't know what to do. Right now, she felt like she wouldn't mind just letting Itachi sweep her away. She nodded dumbly again, unable to make eye contact in an attempt not to lose herself.

"Good." Itachi said and leaned off the wall. He began to unbutton his shirt.

"Itachi w-what are you doing!" Sakura blurted out, her entire face going red.

"Here," he said and threw his shirt on her head. I know it's wet but it'll have to do."

"Why are you giving me this?" Sakura asked, confused and jumpy with a half naked Uchiha in front of her. It reminded her of that day at the hotel in summer.

Itachi took a step closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Because I can see through your shirt." His breath on her ear made her cheeks burn even more and when she looked down and saw her Polk-a-dotted bra showing through the white and now transparent shirt she screamed and blocked herself from him with the shirt.

Itachi sighed but smiled at her, "Aww so cute. But your don't have to feel embarrassed, you have nice shape." he said smoothly with a smirk that made the girl's heart skip a beat.

"And even though you're just an A-cup now I'm sure you'll grow!" Itachi commented, and patted her on the shoulder.

"PERVERT!" Sakura shouted out as she pushed him away so she could put on the shirt in private. "Hurry up or I'll put it on FOR you." Itachi said and Sakura quit pushing him and threw on the shirt.

Itachi walked to the door but jumped a little and gave a whimper before running back to hide behind Sakura.

"Wh-what's wrong Itachi? Is that guy back?" Sakura asked, startled at the boy's sudden movements.

"N-no it's just reeeeeaaaaaaallly cold out th-there." Itachi said, his muscles shivering slightly. "Hmm, it IS getting close to Christmas after all. Snow might even start falling soon..." Sakura pondered.

"Since your wearing two shirts you shouldn't feel it that much right Sakura?" Itachi said and Sakura nodded slowly.

"You know what that means then?" Itachi said with a sly smirk. Sakura shook her head slowly. "Human shield!" Itachi shouted as he picked Sakura up bridal style and headed straight for the exit.

As soon as they hit open air a wind started to blow out of nowhere and Sakura screamed, "Itachi I can't believe you!" but she was smiling and laughing. They both were, "Hold onto my neck Sakura!" Itachi shouted above the wind, "You keep me warm I keep you warm!"

Sakura did as she was told and the two ran across the large lawn. When they reached inside the building Itachi heard his phone ringing from the bag at one of the classroom doors. Itachi took the call, telling Sakura it was his limo driver.

Sakura stood at the window rubbing the damp cloth of Itachi's shirt against her arms to keep arms. She looked down at it, lifted the edge of his collar and sniffed it. The smell of the rose he had offered her earlier reached her nose.

"You like my smell?" Itachi's breath hit her neck making her hair stand on end but this time she wouldn't be caught so easily, "Not really I was actually comparing your scent to a wet dog." she said in monotone.

"Ouch. That a burn." Itachi said but wrapped his arms around her waist. She was about to call out his name and push him off but she could feel his arms shaking slightly.

"Itachi..." she said softly. "! Ready to go again?" the boy said. Sakura turned to speak but he spoke first, "Because I have my bag I can give you a piggy back ride this time." he said with a grin.

"Itachi I thin-" "Let's go! Let's go! The longer you take is the colder it'll get! And we don't have a holiday so I can't just kidnap you and hold you for ransom at my house like last time."

"Itachi..." Sakura said. _"Why are you always thinking of me so dearly?"_ She thought as she approached the grinning boy. "Let's get your back first." he said to the girl on his back.

"Oh right. But I can walk with you in the corridor."

"No I have to practice from now."

"Why?"

"So I can carry you farther distances in the future."

Sakura blushed but couldn't say anything. Instead she let herself me carried quietly by strong arms.

"That's it!" Sakura called out, pointing to her bag. Itachi picked it up and put it in front of his on his chest to block more wind [wearing both bags backwards] .

He stood right at the intersection of the main corridor and by extension the everlasting walkway, with the turn off mini hallway they were standing in. Itachi took a deep breath in and let it out. "You ready again?" he said.

Sakura tightened her hug around his neck and kept her head low, right beside his, "Mhm." she whispered. Itachi felt a boost of adrenaline from her breath on his ear, and sprinted out into the cold once more.

"HERE WE GOOOOO!" he shouted out. Sakura screamed again.

"Sorry I can't run as fast with you on my back! Not that you're heavy it's just I'm not used to it!"

"It's okay! Just get there before your legs fall off from frostbite."

Itachi couldn't help but laugh at Sakura's exaggeration. The limo was waiting right at the entrance. The driver stood with the door open, a scarf around the old man's neck, flying chaotically in the wind.

Sakura began to panic, however, when she noticed Itachi was still blazing towards to the limo even though they were so close to it.

"Itachi...!"

"Keep your head low!" Itachi shouted out and dived head first into the limo.

Sakura screamed out as the two dived onto the comfy seats of the limo. The driver quickly closed the door. The two sighed as soon as they felt the wind stop and the heater warming them up.

"There are towels on the seat in front of you sir." the driver said from the intercom installed in the limo. "Oh uh, thank you." Itachi strained to say under Sakura's weight.

"Uh, Sakura?" Itachi call out softly to the girl above him.

"I don't want to mooooove~" Sakura whined, already knowing what he wanted to say.

Itachi sighed. "Let me at least take off the bags crushing my belly."

"You don't have a belly you have rock hard abs." Sakura said sleepily even though she moved slightly to let him take off the bags.

Itachi really didn't know how to respond to that. It really threw him off. Sakura never complimented him. His cheeks were actually slightly pink and he was glad she was too cold to pay attention.

Of course as soon as the bags slid to the floor the cold damp shirts and extra weight were on his back once again. That was the agreed plan, just to get the bags off.

"Sakura don't you want a nice, warm towel? They're heated you know." Itachi coaxed but Sakura wouldn't buy it, "But you're warmer~" she whined again. Itachi's cheeks became a deeper shade. He twisted his upper body to see what kind of trick she was pulling but Sakura's eyes were closed tightly and she was gripping the shirt in her hands close to her.

The boy sighed and leaned her up with a bit of effort. She moaned and leaned against his chest, seeking warmth. The sudden cold against his chest made him freeze, "sssss!" escaped him as he took in a breath through clenched teeth.

"Okay S-sakura we need to get you out of those clothes before you get sick." Itachi said but he couldn't get Sakura to budge. "Sakura it's either you get yourself a towel or we huddle naked together." Itachi said loud enough for her and the driver to hear.

At that Sakura opened her eyes a little and reluctantly pushed herself off Itachi. The boy handed her a towel and she undid her shirts and wrapped the towel around her. She was at the point of colidity where she didn't care that Itachi was sitting beside her as she stripped and that he had already seen what was beneath her shirt anyways.

Itachi however, was alert enough to look away and give her some privacy as she changed. He then felt something warm against his back.

"S-Sakura?" Itachi said hesitantly.

"I'm still c-cold. It's your fault. Y-you made me your sh-shield." Sakura complained.

"How is it that you can still complain when you're this cold?" Itachi muttered more to himself than to her. He sighed and pulled a towel around his back and leaned against the limo door, Sakura between his legs, and embraced by his arms.

When the limo reached Sakura's house it pulled to a stop slowly. Itachi looked out the window, then down at Sakura. The girl was sleeping peacefully in his arms, he didn't want to wake her. She wasn't shivering anymore.

In fact, he didn't want to let her go at all. He sighed and leaned off the door before the driver could open it let them fall. Itachi managed to get her back into a bridal position, and carried the girl wrapped tightly in a white towel to her home.

He rang the doorbell and hope someone was there. Fortunately for him, Mrs. Haruno opened the door. She raised her eyebrows at the sight she saw.

"Please don't ask any questions. There was a fight, and a pool, and then it just happened to be winter so my fingers are freezing." Itachi whispered.

"Don't worry my lips are sealed. I would invite you in for cocoa but I know you need to get home. So drive safe and I'll send some with Sakura tomorrow." the mother whispered back.

Itachi gave her Sakura's soaked shirt before waving and running to the limo in wet jeans and a towel.

Mrs. Haruno carried Sakura upstairs and put her in her bed.

"I can tell just by looking at you right now that you're not going anywhere tomorrow. And neither is he." she whispered to the sleeping girl before leaving Sakura's room and turning off the light on her way.

**TADAA ONE OF THE FOUR CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN WOOT WOOT! I HOPED YOU ALL LOVED THE ITASAKU-NESS AS MUCH AS I DID WHILE TYPING IT XDDDDDD**

**Okay guys, I spent too long on this story. It's not 4:30 AM. That is, IN THE MORNING YO. AS in, Christmas Eve morning will now be replaced by sleep...I need some sleep...so I can wake up and write the rest for you guys. Please REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! :D**


	23. Chapter 23 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WOOT lol :p

**OKAY GUYS ITS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL TIME WOO HOO~! XD**

**And guess what? It's even MORE Ita x Saku NESS! XDDD**

**Enjoy~~! x3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the anime Naruto.**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 23

_Narrator:__ ...the leaves buried in white, the sakura petal is approaching this blanket now, guided by snowflakes: angels who hope she'll have a safe landing..._

It was morning and Sakura woke up with a headache.

_"Headache...again!"_ Sakura thought and threw her pillow in frustration, then grabbed her head with both hands from the sudden pain that hit her and went back to her original position with a sigh.

She sniffed, then paused.

_"I just sniffed. My nose is stuffy. I think I have a cold. But, WHY do I have a cold?...Ah I can't remember what happened yesterday!"_

"I went to school with a headache..." Sakura started talking out loud to herself as she relayed the events of yesterday from start to end.

"Hinata fell..." Sakura said softly, then snickered to herself, "That girl is so weird. She's trying so hard to beat me when I don't even like hi-!" Sakura spoke but stopped immediately when she saw a flashback of Itachi standing over her and her back against a wall.

Her face turned red and she put both hands to hold her cheeks. _"W-wait a minute what was that!"_

"Come on Sakura!"

"Remember! You have to! If that really happened yesterday what happened before? WHAT HAPPENED AFTER!" she shouted out as she slapped her face, as if pain would bring back the memory. But, alas, it didn't.

Just then Sakura's mom entered the room, "Good morning sunshine! Guess what? After failing to elope with the guy you're actually supposed to end up with according to this author, you got a cold!" she shouted out as she kicked the door open.

"What are you talking about mom?" Sakura said while covering her ears from her mother's loud voice.

"Oh nothing. Not like you'll remember it since your sick AND half asleep right now." her mother said as she placed a tray of breakfast in the girl's lap.

"Tadaa! Cheese and ham omelette, two slices of whole wheat bread toasted till golden brown, a tall glass of orange juice, and for dessert, a slice of cheesecake from your favourite bakery down the road!" her mother said happily.

"Uh, thanks mom. No offense but," Sakura started as her mother went to open her window, "why are you still here? I almost never see you in the morning. That or you're just about to go sleep."

"Oh well, ha-ha, I told you! I'm getting a break!"

"I remember now! You're hiding something from me that you didn't tell me last time, what is it?" Sakura asked again.

"Let's just say I'm getting some time off so we can spend some Christmas time together!" her mother patted her head and smiled at her.

"Eat up! You missed dinner last night so you must be hungry." she said before walking out of the room.

"Mom wai-grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr~" Sakura's belly interrupted her and the girl fell silent out of embarrassment. Her mother had already left so she decided to go ahead and fill her stomach as she continued retracing her steps yesterday.

"After Hinata fell...Itachi helped me get away and we both laughed at the lockers..." Sakura said thoughtfully with a small smile on remembering the happy moment.

The smile soon disappeared, "But then we argued...and went to our classes...Itachi..."

Just then her phone rang really loudly, startling Sakura and almost turning over the juice in her lap. She placed the tray beside her before reaching for the phone. Her eyes widened when she checked the caller ID.

_"It's...Itachi! When did I get his number? I don't...that happened in math class!"_

She pressed accept and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"I can't believe you got me sick this is all your fault I hope your head hurts too you know!"

"...?" Sakura didn't know how to respond, because from the moment she heard his voice, everything started coming back to her at the speed of light and her face showed it.

Itachi, however, took the silence a different way, "Sakura you ARE sick right? I didn't accidentally call you at school and your phone is being confiscated or something right now? Hello? Sakura?"

"Huh? What? Oh! Right, sorry, I just zoned out for a bit there."

"Where are you?"

"In my bed just like you." Sakura said chirpily, _"That's right. Because I have such a good friend like Itachi, I managed to avoid that fight and he even carried me home personally!"_ she obliviously thought with a smile. She blushed when she heard him sigh, remembering his breath on her ear from yesterday.

"That's good. Well, not really because now we're both missing a day of school but good because your phone won't get confiscated." Itachi babbled.

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"So how's that cold treating you?"

"It's your fault you know!"

"How is it my fault? We were both soaked yesterday it's the pool's fault!"

"No I would've been fine if you hadn't kept clinging to me in that wet shirt!"

"Wa-!" Sakura's face turned completely red. She couldn't believe she did that, "No! It's your fault too because you took too long to give me a towel!"

"That was because you were on top of me! You're heavy you know that?"

"And I'm sure you and your rock hard abs weigh less?"

The two laughed with each other. After they quieted there was awkward silence because Sakura didn't know what to say. Itachi decided to break it.

"You know, I really believe we'd both be feeling healthy and fin at school today if we huddled naked together last night-"

"ITACHI!"

"Ha-ha I'm just kidding take a joke man." Itachi laughed.

Sakura's face was beet red and right now she was glad she was only talking to him on the phone. She wouldn't know what to do if he said that to her in person.

"You know, it kinda seems like we're a couple talking on the phone right now." Sakura joked and laughed a little after saying that line.

"...And what's wrong with that?" Itachi replied, stopping Sakura's laugh instantly.

"There. You did it again."

"Did what?"

"You said something like that on the summer trip too. When we were taking the picture on the beach."

"Uh, yeah what about it?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what it is!"

"What? But you've always teased me and told me that you'd never be with me in a million years..."

"Hey are your doing anything Christmas Day?"

"You changed the subject!"

"Well are you?"

"I...I don't know yet. My mom said she got a break so we could spend some time together so I think she has something planned. Why are you asking?

"Darn. I was hoping to not spend Christmas by myself this year..."

Sakura blushed when she heard that. _"Wait what? Why am I blushing? Focus!"_

"But don't you have Sasuke-kun and your mom to celebrate it with?"

The response to that question was loud laughter from the other party, "You're really funny Sakura. Oblivious too. REEEEAAALLY oblivious."

"Hey!"

"Well I gotta go your killing my phone credit with your pausing, stuttering and hesitation so bye!"

*click*

"Itachi? Itachi!" Sakura shouted at her phone. She took it from her ear and saw that she'd been hung up on.

"He hung up on me...that punk! How dare he! Was he just a bit sad because I turned him down? How could he be? I'm his brother's girlfriend, not his-"

At that moment the thought of Itachi kissing her finger came into view. She froze, cheeks red, then began shaking her head from side to side, _"Why do I keep thinking of moments like those GAH I'm Sasuke's girlfriend! Not his! Something like that is impossible!"_

"SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Sakura shouted out unconsciously in an attempt to force herself to accept it.

_"Huh? What is this? For some reason, there's a pain in my chest..."_

"Nothing's impossible if you put your mind to it~~~~!" came a weak shout from next door.

Sakura looked out her window to see a short, over worked man, waving at her with a smile of encouragement.

She sweat dropped but gave him a thumbs up until his wife appeared behind him and whacked him once with her bedside slipper, shouting about how he woke her up, then chasing him down the hallway with the shoe in hand.

Sakura sighed and went back to eating her breakfast, _"Even if you say that old man, I'm in a situation where doing the impossible will cause more problems than I already have..."_

The next day Sakura and Itachi both up refreshed and ready to go to another day of school. Exams were next week and they needed to get all their notes from yesterday so the two were very busy that day.

In fact, then entire school was entering 'work mode'. Everyone looked like they were swatting or studying every chance they had. Teachers were giving out pop quizzes to keep the students on top, telling them after wards that it wasn't graded so they didn't have to worry about their failures.

The night before all students would begin their exams was here and many people received last minute text messages saying good luck, as well as emails of encouragement.

**[EXAM TAIM TAIM DX]**

Sakura dragged her feet as she walked down the everlasting walkway. She yawned wide and others around her instantly whispered about how she had no manners. But Sakura didn't care. She was focused. She studied *cough*swatted*cough as much as she could last night and she was ready to regurgitate all that information back on paper and then forget everything chemistry related in two hours.

"Sakura-chan I don't understand any of it I'm going to fail!" Naruto shouted and glomped Sakura.

The pink-haired girl kicked him off and fixed her clothes, "Don't do that Naruto you'll throw me off I'm relaying everything I studied!...Crack I've forgotten it all!" she said and grabbed her head with both hands.

"Well, at least we'll fail together~" Naruto said in an attempt to cheer her up but the glare he got sent him running.

"Sakura-san!" a sharp but soft voice called out behind her. Sakura sighed and turned around to hear Hinata's lecture. She had already given up going over her swatted material in her head and accepted failure.

"Sakura-san that it not appropriate behaviour to the man you are trying to impress. If you ask me, your methods are actually driving him away...would you like any advice?" Hinata asked and Sakura sweat dropped.

"Uh, you know what? Rain check? Need to do some last minute revising." Sakura said as she stepped back.

As she escaped Hinata she sighed and took out her notebook from her bag as she headed to an empty classroom near the examination room. She searched fervently for her notebook but couldn't find it.

Itachi saw her walking towards him and called out to her but she didn't respond because she was too focused on looking for the only source of chemistry information she brought with her to school.

She stopped walking; took off her bag, and turned it up side down. The action startled the Uchiha who came running to her aid.

"Sakura what's wrong stress get to you or something?"

"I can't find my chem book! I need it I'm totally blank right now!"

"Ah but you forget, I'm a chem genius. What do you need help with?"

"Everything."

"You can't serious."

"Oh but I am."

"What were you studying yesterday then?"

"Everything."

"Oh so you swatted everything and your brain started clearing it out even before the exam started."

"Yes..." Sakura hung her head in shame.

"Okay let's go quick revision time! I'm sure it's still in there somewhere. Godo thing you came to school early!" the Uchiha said with a grin.

Sakura, feeling a little better, nodded a thanks and the two entered the classroom. Itachi quickly took up a marker and started writing stuff on the board while explaining, careful to make sure Sakura wasn't lost at any point.

The bell rang for the Chemistry exam to start and Sakura groaned, "Nooooo it's here!" She complained. Itachi sighed, "We didn't get to go through everything either..."

His expression made her feel a bit guilty, "Hey what's with that face you look more troubled than me!" she called out. He turned to look at her and forced a smile but she knew he was still worried.

"Don't worry Itachi we went through most of the topics so I can at least make an eighty now. Arigatou, Sensei!" she said with a grin as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

He grinned back at her, "You better pass this!"

"Definitely!" She called out as she ran into the exam room and took her seat. After she prepared her to receive the paper and start working she looked to the door again but Itachi was gone.

She felt a bit disheartened that he wasn't still cheering her on and looked out the window with a sigh. She then saw a figure on a bench on the large courtyard giving her a thumbs up once more and smiled.

"Begin!"

**[AFTER THE EXAM]**

Sakura ran out of the classroom and headed straight towards the last place she saw Itachi at. She accidentally ran into him in her hurry. The two fell to the floor. After apologizing simultaneously and realizing who they'd bumped into they laughed.

"Do remember?"

"Yup. This is exactly how we met each other."

The two laughed again before standing up.

"So how was Chemistry?" Itachi asked.

"You know, I think I at least passed that."

"So that's eighty or higher right?"

"What no of course not. The pass mark is 50 percent if it was 80 I'd have failed."

"You got less than 80!"

"Hey don't pressure me they used a bunch of big words in there!"

"You mean the names of the chemicals?"

"The point is it's out of the way!"

"You're avoiding the question."

"And math is next!"

"Uggghh why'd you have to bring that up."

"Cuz I'm good at it."

Itachi sighed, "Fine I got my turn you get yours now. Come sensei, you must now teach me the ways of the math. I have much to learn."

Sakura laughed, "Yes young grasshopper. I see much potential in you."

"Really?"

"No not really."

"So mean~"

"Be a man!"

"I'd rather be yours~"

"W-what!"

"Just kidding. Student-teacher relationships are forbidden remember?"

"That doesn't stop the yaoi authors..." Sakura mumbled.

"What?"

"Solve 4 x squared + 16 x + 16 right now!"

"What how am I supposed to do that on the spot!"

"It's a perfect square! 2 x + 4 is the root! You have to be able to spot these things! To the bench! Get a piece of paper and a pencil! We have much to do." Sakura commanded and Itachi stumbled out of panic to follow her orders.

"She changed the subject so passionately I don't get why..." Itachi mumbled.

"What was that!"

"Nothing Sensei!"

"Hurry up! We only have an hour before the math exam!"

"Right!"

And so the two practiced math questions for the hour. When the bell rang they looked up at each other and nodded.

"Let's do this." Itachi said and held up a hand in the air.

"Yeah! Math we're gonna break you down like completing the square of a quadratic!" Sakura shouted out as she was about to high five him.

But Itachi moved his hand through his hair right before she reached it so she missed and was thrown off balance, "Sorry but that just sounded so lame Sakura."

"Whatever." Sakura said from the ground.

[AFTER THE EXAM]

Sakura turned around in her chair as soon as all the papers were collected and the students were dismissed.

"Passed?" she said and held up a hand.

"Passed!" Itachi said and lifted up a hand to high five.

"Over 80%?"

"Ye-no." Itachi said and brought his hand back down.

Sakura laughed, "Well we're even then."

"Sure."

And so the exams passed and Sakura and Itachi pepped each other before each one and supported each's failure feelings after each some.

**[EXAMS DUN WOOT!]**

"Exams are finally gone!"

"FOLEVAAAAAAAAA!"

"It's forever."

"I DON'T CARE ENGLISH EXAM WAS DONE LAST WEEK."

Roars of happiness and excitement erupted from the school as the students stampeded out onto the school grounds, trying to get as far as possible from their classrooms.

"Merry Christmas when it comes!" was the shout passed around among the students. Many were making plans to spend time together during the holidays and others were playing in the snow.

"Hey Sakura let's go hang out at the movies one day!" Hinata called out to Sakura.

"Huh? Uh sure. Let's exchange numbers so we can organize it better later." Sakura said and the two girls took out their phones.

"Hey Sakura!" Itachi called out but as soon as he reached her she ran off towards the exit.

"Sakura!" he called out again.

"Sorry Itachi gotta go! Its mom time now!" she shouted back.

He wanted to ask her again about her plans for Christmas but when he how happy she looked as she called back to him while she sprinted, he just smiled and waved.

"Call me if your plans change!" he shouted out.

She raised a thumb in the air right before she turned the corner.

"Still racing after Itachi?"

"...! Ino! Wow, you know, I haven't seen you in forever!"

Ino facepalmed, "You know you are THE WORST boyfriend I've ever had." the blonde stated harshly.

"Why thank you. It's hard not to be a heartless and scheming b all the time."

Ino gaped at him.

"Trying to catch some snowflakes? I wanna try too." Itachi said and stuck out his tongue.

Ino scoffed, "Ugh! You're such an idiot!" and flashed her hair as she stomped to her limousine.

Itachi chuckled to himself.

**[AT SAKU SAKU HOUSEHOLD]**

"Mom I'm home!" Sakura called out as she entered the house, "I know there's only about five days till Christmas but I was we could go shop-" Sakura said but stopped when she entered the kitchen and saw her mother standing at the counter. In her work clothes.

"Mom? Why are you dressed up for work?" Sakura asked her mother. She knew the answer but she couldn't believe it. She didn't want to.

"Oh...Sakura, welcome back. I didn't know you'd be home so early. Don't students like to stay back on the last day of school?"

"You said you were on a break!"

"How were you're exams?"

"You said...you said we we're going to spend Christmas together this time!" Sakura shouted out, tearing already falling down her cheeks.

"I said we could spend some Christmas time together, not Christmas day. Something came up at work so my break has been cut short. That's just how it is sometimes Sakura." her mother replied coldly as she fixed a cup of coffee for herself.

"But...you're always working on Christmas we NEVER spend it together anymore!"

"Sakura. You'll soon be in the real world. You'll realize that you just have to do some things and that...work comes before play."

"So spending time with family is just play to you?"

Her mother sighed, "One day I'll explain everything to you. All I can say for now is I'm sorry and I hope we can spend the next one together okay? I'll send you a letter on the 25th. Stay safe my angel," she said and kissed Sakura's forehead before leaving the house.

"13 years...13 years of spending Christmas alone..." the 17 year old girl whispered to herself as she watched her tears fall into the half empty cup of coffee her mother had previously been drinking.

She took out her phone and opened the phonebook.

"Itachi?" Sakura said before sniffling.

"Sakura? Sakura what's wrong? Didn't you just leave with a big smile on your face?"

"Yeah um," *sniff* ,"can we still make plans for Christmas? Something came up..."

**[CHRISTMAS DAY Y'ALL]**

Itachi had everything planned out for the 25th. He wouldn't tell Sakura any part of it. It was a total secret. He jogged to her doorstep and rang the doorbell.

The door opened slowly to reveal a heavily clothed Sakura with a red nose, baggy eyes and messy hair under a cap. Itachi's smile dropped.

"Woah what happened to you?"

"Oh nothing I've just been crying myself to sleep for the past four nights." Sakura said with a smile behind her scarf.

Itachi sighed. "Well looks like I'm going to have to move some stuff around..." he mumbled to himself.

"What?"

"Hey, you wanna go to an arcade?" Itachi asked with hands in pockets.

"Really? I haven't been to one in forever! Sure I'd love to!" Sakura responded as chirpily as she could before sniffing. Itachi grinned, "Great."

"Woooooooooooowwww it's so biiiiiiiiiig!" Sakura said in awe as she entered the large building. The roof was decorated with stars and planets to look like outer space and there were many different sections in the large ballroom sized place.

"The arcade has many floors and is divided into sections based on types of games. This floor is the outer space floor. You can find all sorts of alien fighter games and stuff in here."

"You mean like alien galactica 5!" Sakura asked, eyes sparkling.

"More like alien galactica 7!" Itachi shouted back.

"They made more!"

"Yup! And I uh, I mean this place actually has all the versions!"

"That's so cool Let's go!"

"! Wait up!" Itachi called out as he chased Sakura throughout the building.

After a few minutes of playing Itachi suggesting playing some other games and the two went from shoot em up games to classics like Bario, back to palman and forward and beyond with the latest of Alley Fighter.

"Oh oh oh dance sing revolution!" Sakura shouted and sprinted for the platform in the middle of the room. She grabbed a mike and called over Itachi. She jumped up and down as the boy walked over slowly.

"Hurry up! Hurry up you slow poke!"

"Hold on little child version of Sakura."

"Fine Old man Uchiha."

Itachi stuck out his tongue as he stepped up onto the platform.

"You dance I'll sing." Sakura ordered as she scrolled through the list of songs.

"But I can't da-" Itachi started but his voice was drowned out by the loud song Sakura chose.

She turned to him and shouted out, "I love this song it's really upbeat!"

Itachi, who couldn't hear a word she said, just smiled and nodded.

Sakura opened her mouth and started singing, "You! Change your mind! like a girl! change's clothes!"

Itachi listened to the first line, then posed like Michael Jackson the moment Sakura reached the second line. The dramaticness of Itachi holding his imaginary hat and belt made Sakura laugh while she was singing. Itachi continued doing random cool poses until she reached the chorus.

Once Sakura hit the chorus Itachi started doing...the Dee Dee dance. [if you can't remember this just type it in on youtube and click the first video guys XD].

When Sakura saw that she stopped singing completely and grabbed her stomach as she doubled over in laughter.

Itachi stopped "What? Why'd you stop singing? It was getting good!"

"NO IT WASN'T!" Sakura shouted back with a grin and continued laughing.

"Let's switch!" he shouted as he ran to her.

However, Itachi also couldn't sing. So when the song's chorus came up, the Uchiha was screeching down the building. Sakura was head banging to the boy's karaoke. Itachi ran beside her and the two started screaming together into the mike while doing the disco. When that song was over the machine automatically played the next one and the two continued to have fun being danically retarded.

After the playlist finished the two collapsed on the floor.

"Whew!...That was fun!" Sakura said between breaths.

"I think my voice is going." Itachi said croakily and Sakura laughed some high pitched broken up voice that made the two start laughing from the sound of her voice.

Sakura cleared her throat, "So what's next?"

"It's a secret." Itachi said with a finger to his lips and a wink.

"What? Oh come on!" Sakura said and chased and laughing Uchiha back to the white limousine.

**HEY GUYS I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING - "Why am I seeing bold font that means the chapters done but she couldn't just end my Christmas Special like that that's too horrible!" **

**DON'T WORRY THERE WILL BE MORE I CAN DEFINITELY PROMIS YOU THAT! THIS TIME THE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WILL BE SPLIT INTO TWO PARTS! TWICE THE FUN OF SUMMER! lol :p**

**I'm sorry guys but I can't give you everything in one chapter because:**

**1. It'd be WAY too long and**

**2. I have church in 5 hours D:**

**I hope you enjoyed the first part though! The Christmas Special is actually a day of ItaSaku! WOOT!**

**I can;t guarantee you'll get it tomorrow because family has this thing where they want to spend time together on certain days like the 25th of December so I may be prevented from going to my computer TT_TT but I will try my best to get this up by the latest the night of the 26th! **

**Please look forward to it :p :).**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Tell me if you like the story so far or if you have any ideas for what will happen next I'd love to hear them! xD**


	24. Chapter 24 BOXINGDAY SPECIAL xmas cntd

**OKAY GUYS HERE'S PART TWO OF THE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!XDDD**

**Oh and Merry Belated Christmas/Happy Boxing Day guys :p**

+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+

Chapter 24

_*as this is a continuation the narration is the same*_

As the limo drove the scenic route around town Sakura gaped outside the window, "Everyone's decorated their places the places look so beautiful!"

Itachi looked at his watch, "Wow it's already noon I can't believe we spent so long in that arcade."

"It's afternoon already? Hmm, how about we walk around instead of taking your limo. Since it's already lunch time there's a lot of traffic so we'll be sitting here for awhile..." Sakura reasoned.

"You don't want to spend some time with me all alone in the back of my sound proof limo?" Itachi teased as he sat closer to Sakura.

The girl quickly moved for the door, "Speaking of lunch time I'm pretty hungry so let's go eat something!"

Itachi's stomach growled in agreement and the Uchiha laughed, "Sure why not?"

He walked to the front of the limo while Sakura waited on the side walk, "Sorry about leaving you to suffer the Christmas traffic alone, but the lady wants to sight see."

"Think nothing of it Young Master. Win her over today!" the old man replied with a smile barely visible behind his bushy moustache. Itachi grinned and waved once as the car moved up 5cm in the line of traffic before joining the pink haired girl rubbing her arms to keep warm.

He stood beside her and curved his arm outwards to her, "Will you accompany me this fine snowy day to find the nearest fast food restaurant?" "Why I'd be delighted to." Sakura said as she hooked her arm around his and the two laughed as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Hey you two! The nice couple walking! Come by some ramen!" a man called out to the two. Sakura's face turned completely red. She turned and shouted out, "We're not a couple just friends!" in response but her face expression made everyone at the place think she was just being modest and laughed.

"Itachi tell them!" she shouted at the boy beside her.

"Ah ha-ha isn't she cute?" Itachi said loudly with a sweat drop as her led her into the small shack like building. He could feel Sakura's glare on him as he sat across from her at a small table for two. He used the menu to subtly avoid eye contact but Sakura wouldn't let him do that.

She put her hand at the top of her menu and brought it down flat on the table, "Why didn't you back me up? Because you responded like that people think we're a couple now!" Sakura shouted-whispered.

"And what's wrong with that?" Itachi said as he read the description of one of the meals on the menu.

"There! You did it again!" Sakura said excitedly, pointing at him.

"Hey it's rude to point you know. At this distance you could poke my eye out." Itachi complained as he grabbed her hand and moved it down to the table. He stopped right above the table and opened her hand,

"Oh how's your finger? Is it healing?"

"You're avoiding the question again..." Sakura said with a glare.

"What question? Oh what do you want to order the waiter's coming." Itachi said as he waved to get one of the employees' attention.

"She's only coming thanks to you..." Sakura mumbled.

"Hmm? What's that? You want tomato casserole ramen? Eww~" Itachi said and Sakura was about to respond when the waiter approached the table.

"Merry Christmas what can I get you this afternoon?" the girl said chirpily.

"Well Sakura here said that she wanted the toma-" Itachi started but Sakura practically lunged across the table to cover the boy's mouth, "Chicken and ramen please." she said with a smile. The waitress sweat dropped but nodded and wrote down the order.

"And what for you sir?" the girl said, turning to Itachi.

"Whatever you recommend~" Itachi purred as he played with her long hair. The girl blushed but when she caught Sakura's shocked and slightly angry expression she laughed and said, "Oh you shouldn't do things like that in front of your girlfriend!"

"Oh she's not my girlfriend we're just friends hanging out. Right Sakura?" Itachi turned to Sakura with a smile as if he was mocking her.

"uh, well, yes but-" Sakura started but the waitress spoke as soon as she heard yes.

"Really? Oh well, my shift is ending soon if you want-" the waitress started to babble but Sakura interjected,

"But that doesn't mean you can have him!" she said firmly. Sakura's response shocked both Itachi and the waitress. Itachi stared at Sakura but the girl was resolute. Sakura was gave the girl the meanest glare she had ever worn and the waitress felt so intimidated by it she didn't know how to react.

So she quickly broke eye contact and looked down to her list; moving a lock of hair behind her ear as she opened her mouth and said, "W-well today we have a special Christmas ramen we're offering to all our customers at discount price!" she stuttered nervously, still feeling Sakura's eyes on her.

"Oh uh, sure I'll have that please add two glasses of water with them please and thank you!" Itachi said quickly and the waitress nodded a 'sure no problem!' that sounded very scared and ran off into the 'EMPLOYEE'S ONLY' room, her sake haven from Sakura's eyes.

After the waitress left Itachi sighed. He then smirked, "Wow Sakura I've never seen you like this does this mean you actually like me or someth-" Itachi turned to her but froze when he found he was being glared at too.

"That girl is really easy but you're something else! I can't believe you!" Sakura exploded.

"Sakura?" Itachi said, slightly scared.

"How can you just flirt with her so easily? And in front of me too! Even IF we're just friends I'm still a girl who's your friend and therefore cares about who you choose to get close to I don't want you to go messing around with just anyone that can ruin your life you know!" Sakura erupted, maternal instincts slightly kicking in.

Her voice was so loud that other people around were starting to pay attention to her. Itachi sweat dropped and brought his two hands together to silently apologize to the other whose lunches were being so rudely interrupted.

"Oh come on Sakura you couldn't possibly think I was serious?"

"Of course you were serious! You do it all the time! Even with me sometimes! I'm trying to get you out of your playboy habit you know!" Sakura said a bit softer, aware of the bad mood she was creating by disrupting other people's meals.

"Then," Itachi started as he leaned over the table and held her chin up to face him with his thumb and index, "Why don't you break my habit with your body?"

Sakura's face turned red and she slapped his hand away, "There! You're doing it again! I can't believe you!"

Itachi sighed, "Sakura don't worry. The only time I'm serious when I'm flirting is when I'm flirting with-" Itachi began but quickly stopped himself, _"I can't believe I almost confessed to her on the spot! Man that was close!"_ he thought and decided to clear his throat, "Let's just enjoy our meal okay?" he said in his normal, upbeat voice as the waitress cautiously approached the table with the two meals.

"Here you are guys! One chicken and Ramen and one Christmas special! Please do enjoy!" she said with a large plastic smile on to hide her nervousity. She quickly placed two glasses of water on the table and excused herself.

"Itadakimaaaaaaaasu~!" Itachi said happily and was about to commence eating when Sakura said something.

"It's Ino isn't it?"

"...What?"

"You were about to say that you're only serious with her right?"

"Um, I'm not following. Ino?"

"Your girlfriend?" Sakura said a bit louder, and ticked off.

"...! Oh right! Her...nah I could never flirt with her..." Itachi said and cringed on the inside.

"Why not? You two are together aren't you all lovey-dovey?"

"No way! Not. One. Bit."

"Wow, really?" Sakura said, slightly happy that Itachi wasn't really happy with Ino. She took it that she was right to tell her off during the summer trip.

"Besides, it's not like you and Sasuke are lovey-dovey."

"! We are!" Sakura retaliated.

"Oh really? When was the last time you guys talked?"

"We talk all the time! We're in most of the same classes you know!"

"I mean REALLY talked: like we do all the time." Itachi said, placing his cutlery down to show that he was paying attention to her.

"Well uh, it may have been a while back..."

"How long?"

"First day of school?"

"See? You have no right to tell me how to live my love life when your not progressing much in yours either." Itachi said matter-of-factly as he looked at the fork he reached to pick up but paused when he realized Sakura didn't respond.

He looked up to see Sakura glaring, "How dare you! I AM progressing thank you very much!"

"Have you guys kissed yet?" Itachi said as he stirred his ramen around to circulate the heat.

"Well...no. We're taking things slowly okay?" Sakura said humbly as she took a bite of her food, "Mmm! This is really good!" she said with a smile.

"Lucky mine's horrible!" Itachi said with a grimace after taking the first bite of his meal.

Sakura laughed as she took up another forkful. Her guard was down while she laughed and so she didn't notice Itachi stretch for her hand. She was shocked when she came to and saw Itachi putting her fork in his mouth and eating the contents on it.

"Oh you're right this IS good! Wanna switch?" the boy asked obliviously.

Sakura's blushed again, "Y-you stole my food!"

Itachi simply nodded.

"But...that was an indirect kiss..." Sakura mumbled quietly and looked down with a pink face. Itachi burst out laughing. As he calmed down he commented, "Oh you're so cute! I guess I'm one step ahead of Sasuke then!" he said with a smug look on his face.

Sakura was about to angrily scold him but she stopped and closed her mouth, cheeks even redder, _"More like two steps you stole my first kiss too you know..."_

Itachi, noticing her silence and lack of comeback asked her what was wrong.

"Hm? Oh nothing and NO I will not trade my delicious meal for your horrible tasting one. That's what you get for flirting with the waitress." Sakura said grudge fully as she took another forkful and ate it, cheeks pink.

The grimace she then made shortly after caused Itachi to laugh, "Guess you don't need to try mine anymore!"

Sakura was about to comment but Itachi quickly told her to hurry and eat because they had much more to do.

****

**[WALKING THE STREETS]**

"Wow I can't believe you spent over and hour and a half just eating lunch Sakura." Itachi said sarcastically.

"We both know it was your fault why we took so long." Sakura stated.

"How was it my fault only? You're the mom who scolded me for so long."

"Well I wouldn't have HAD to if you didn't flirt with that waitress..." Sakura admitted in a low voice so no one around could hear her. Her cheeks were pink with embarrassment.

"Well if you're that jealous about it Sakura, I'll only flirt with you from now on." Itachi whispered in her ear. The girl's face lit up and she pushed Itachi away.

"You're not supposed to be doing that to anyone but Ino!" Sakura justified with a pointed index finger.

Itachi sighed, "Why do you keep talking about that girl it's so annoying." the boy complained as he walked ahead of the girl pointing at him.

Sakura felt like something was wrong and caught up with him, "Well, that's because you guys are together, so...did something happen? Most guys should be happy talking about the girl their with because they like her right?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Well, I like talking about you but that's about it..." Itachi said normally as he looked ahead.

"Wh-wh-what are you talking about don't say that in such a mysterious way I might interpret it wrong..." Sakura stuttered, amazed at how easily Itachi made her flustered.

"Hey look, carolling." the boy said distantly, as he watched a small group of women and men singing songs on the opposite side of the road.

"My voice is still worn out from all that karaoke in the arcade." Sakura said wearily.

"Well we can just sit on that bench and laugh when they mess up then." Itachi said as he gestured for Sakura to sit on the bench. The girl giggled as she sat, Itachi beside her.

When the song changed to one about spending Christmas with family, Sakura felt a little sad, but suddenly remembered something,

"Hey Itachi, why are you spending Christmas with me instead of with your family? It's not like their out at work or anything like my mom right?"

There was a pause and Sakura felt she shouldn't have asked that when she saw Itachi's expression. The boy sighed before explaining,

"You may never believe it but, it's quite clear in that house who the favourite is, and it's not me. That woman is only nice to me in the face of company and even then, it depends on how influential the visiting party is."

Sakura stared at him waiting for him to go on. He sighed again,

"Christmas in that house is basically Sasuke Day. Mom goes and makes extravagant plans for him to meet many influential people who could be potential business partners that can help Sasuke in the future and she goes all out with decorating for it. Dad flies down and only stays for the party, bringing with him some really expensive gift for my brother. Mom only talks to me once on this day and it's to either tell me to 'make myself discreet' at the party, or offering that I spend it at a relative's house. Dad doesn't even look at me if he sees me." Itachi said with a bitter smile from the last sentence.

"! I'm sorry I asked..." Sakura apologized but Itachi waved her off.

"It's okay because you told me you'd spend Christmas with me. If you didn't call me back I'd probably spend the entire day in bed or on the computer. So, thanks Sakura." he said with a grin that made her heart jump.

Sakura quickly looked away, moving a hand to her chest, _"Why is my heart beating so fast? It's like, I'm falling for him too!"_

Unfortunately, realization hit her and she ruined the mood, "But why didn't you ask Ino? Christmas would be the perfect time to mend things with her."

Itachi sighed loudly and slumped in the chair. He turned his head to the girl beside him, "You just don't get it do you? You're really oblivious sometimes..." he said and turned to look at the carollers.

"If you keep talking about Ino I'm going to get depressed and if we're both depressed this day will suck. Cause when you get depressed I won't be able to cheer you up. Besides, Ino is old news."

"Hey! You said when instead of IF!" Sakura pointed out and Itachi smiled, "Yeah, I did..." but his reply was a bit distant and made Sakura wonder what he meant by it.

"Wait you said you're going to get depressed does that mean that you two broke up?"

"Ahh!" she shouted out as Itachi threw a little snow in her face, "What was that for!" Sakura asked as she brushed the cold slush off her face.

"Let's go I need to jog off this horrible mood you gave me."

"I gave you a horrible mood? I'm sorry..." Sakura apologized and looked down at her hands.

"Ah! You're so serious!" he shouted out to everyone, then leaned in and held her chin, "If you're really sorry-"

But Sakura pushed him off before he could finish, "I'm not THAT sorry!" she called out as she jogged away. Itachi smirked and jogged after her, "You didn't let me finish!" he called out with a grin.

The two slowed their jogging to a stroll as they entered a park.

"Everything's covered in snow...!" Sakura said in awe.

"Cause it's snowing." Itachi coughed loudly and Sakura whipped her head around, "Whatever mister smarty pants." and stuck out her tongue.

"If you keep that out too long I might bite it off." Itachi teased.

"I lai to see you thrai!" Sakura said with her tongue still out.

"Oh really?" Itachi said right before he took a big step towards her.

Sakura quickly withdrew her tongue and giggled as the boy prevented her from stepping back while he leaned in to 'bite her tongue off'.

"So close." he said with a smirk.

Sakura blushed and looked away.

"UM, EXCUSE ME, PEOPLE MAKING OUT?" a child excused himself in a really loud voice that startled the two teenagers and cause them to step away from each other and look like they were doing the complete opposite in case any one looked their way.

"We were doing no such thing little boy so please don't say such things so loudly okay?" Sakura pleaded with a smile.

"I lost my dog and I can't find him!" the boy exclaimed, completely ignoring Sakura's plead.

"What does he look like?" Itachi said eagerly as he crouched down to the little boy's level.

"Well, he has red eyes, a brown collar, and white fur!" the boy said the last part happily but the two sweat dropped.

_"Why the HELL would you carry your WHITE DOG outside your house/yard when its ACTUALLY SNOWING!" _Sakura thought with a sweat drop.

"Don't worry uh,"

"Theopholus Orpheus Manjukin is my name."

Sakura and Itachi fell anime style. Itachi recovered first, "How about Tom? You get that by taking the first letter of each of your names." the Uchiha said hopefully.

"Sure! I've never had a nickname before!" the boy said and ran to a tree a good distance away. "This is where we were playing last!" he called out.

Sakura and Itachi walked towards the boy.

"What the heck were wrong with his parents the day they named this kid?" Sakura shout-whispered.

"Maybe they were on crack?"

"Or going through a mythology phase."

"...Greek Crack?"

Sakura sighed before joining in with Itachi's laughter.

"Okay so what were you doing last at this spot?" Detective Itachi asked the boy but the latter was staring at Sakura.

"What?" Sakura asked, feeling uncomfortable.

"Did you wear that many coats so you wouldn't look flat-chested?" the boy said with a blank expression.

"What! HOW DARE YOU?" Sakura exploded and went off into a rant about how children weren't being raised well these days.

Itachi sighed. He snapped his fingers in front of the boy to get his attention and repeated his question again, ignoring Sakura's rant.

"Well, we were playing fetch and I threw the stick as faaaaar as I could! Then, when Blackie ran after it a huge wind blew and after it stopped I couldn't find him anymore!" The boy told his story.

"...you named your WHITE dog BLACKIE?" Itachi and Sakura asked the boy at the same time, sweat dropping.

"Mom says it has something to do with being interracial supporters."

The two face palmed simultaneously. Itachi stood up straight to stretch his knees. "So which direction did you throw the stick in, do you remember?"

"You don't have to feel any way you know, I actually like flat-chested girls better." the boy said to Sakura with slightly pink cheeks.

"Wh-what? Focus! You're looking for your dog not a girlfriend!" Sakura looked away, feeling really freaked out. Itachi, on the other hand, had popped a vein. He bonked the kid on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Your tongue is too quick and you don't know your place." Itachi bluntly corrected, "Now, which direction did you throw the stick in?"

The boy pointed in two directions at the same time.

"How can you throw one stick in two opposite directions?" Itachi asked, slightly impatient and ticked off that the boy was hitting on Sakura.

"Sometimes I threw it that way and sometimes I threw it that way but I don't remember which way I threw it last..." the boy confessed, feeling pathetic.

Sakura sighed, "I guess we'll have to split up."

"I wanna go with you 'cause your pretty and I like you." the boy basically confessed to Sakura and made her speechless.

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes, "If you try anything-"

"OMG You grabbed my butt you little pervert!" Sakura said and bonked the kid on the head.

The grabbed his head in pain and Sakura was about to apologize when the boy brought up his head, "I like when they play hard to get." and said with a grin.

Sakura shivered, "Itachi!" she called out in fear as she looked at the boy with a scared face. Itachi sighed.

"Okay-"

"He's blowing kisses at me! crack! he's worse than you!" Sakura squealed and ran over to Itachi.

"Don't compare me to him!" Itachi shouted out incredulously.

"But! But! He's just like a mini version of you!"

"So we're rivals then! I accept your challenge!" The boy called out to Itachi.

The Uchiha scoffed, "You can't be serious." he said to himself.

"I'd prefer to go with you than this little perv but we can't just let a little kid wander around by himself..." Sakura mumbled.

Itachi sighed, "Let him go with me then. I'll set him straight while we look."

"You're going with him? So that means I'm going...alone?"

"Yeah. It's no problem right? Not like you're scared of the dark or anything right?" Itachi said as he walked over to the little boy.

"Uh, yeah sure! Pssh, scared of the dark? Me? Ha!" Sakura bluffed.

"Kay then. We'll go this way you go that way and we'll meet back up in about 20 minutes since the sun is setting. I don't think this kid should stay out too late."

"Okay." Sakura said with a smile as she watched the two males walk off._ "So Itachi CAN be mature sometimes! Who'd have thought?"_

****

**[WITH THE GUYS]**

"Hey kid." Itachi called out to the kid walking in front of him.

"What?" the boy snapped at him.

"Hey don't act so rude we're helping you look for your dog voluntarily you know. Thanks to you my day with her has been put on hold..." Itachi mumbled.

"So you guys WERE making out."

"We weren't! Not like she'd let me."

"Oh so it's one sided. I have a chance then!"

"Do you seriously like her or are you just playing around?"

"I dunno. I'm nine. I'm just repeating lines I saw from this TV show."

Itachi sighed with relief, "Thank God 'cause I don't know how to go up against a kid."

The boy turned around and smiled at him, "Yeah I'd so beat you by default 'cause I'd get the sympathy vote." Itachi ruffled his hair in response, "No I'd charm her and sweep her off her feet before you could even remember a comeback from the last episode of whatever that show was."

"We'll see."

"Is that a challenge?" Itachi said, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe it is."

"Hmph! So confident!"

The boy opened his mouth to say something when a very high pitched scream was heard. Itachi looked at the boy with a omg-your-voice-is-so-high-and-girly but the boy gave him a hell-no-my-range-isn't-that-big look and the two ran back in Sakura's direction.

"Sakura!" Itachi called out as he saw a black figure in the dark on the snow floor. Sakura's outline became more visible as the two got closer.

"Wait! Look!" Sakura shouted out and pointed with a trembling finger at two red eyes staring at her from the bushes. The red eyed figure jumped out and started running towards Sakura. The girl shrieked and Itachi ran forward to protect her but right before he and the figure collided the boy called out,

"WAIT! I THINK THAT'S BLACKIE!"

Itachi stopped and looked back at the kid. He jumped when he heard Sakura shriek again although her scream was softer and followed by laughter this time.

"St-stoooop!" she said as she blocked the dog that was licking her face.

Itachi sighed and crouched down beside Sakura, "Geez, way to go and give me a heart attack."

The dog turned and started licking him on hearing his voice. The little boy ran up and hugged the dog, "Oh Blackie we were looking all over for you!"

The child then proceeded to bawl. Very Loudly. Sakura and Itachi sweat dropped.

"Well everything's settled! We'll leave you two alone get home safely okay?" Saukra said cheerfully as she stood up. She and Itachi were about to walk off when the boy called out.

"Wait! Thanks guys."

"No prob." Itachi said giving the kid a thumbs up.

"And Sakura-chan. I'm sorry but I must admit defeat."

"Huh?" Saukra said in confusion.

"I actually didn't know your name until that guy-"

"Whose name is Itachi."

"-called out to you awhile ago. I'd never win. Guess you get her in the end Itachi. You better make her happy! If you make her cry I'll beat you up!" the kid shouted out as he pointed to Itachi.

The Uchiha laughed and ruffled the kid's hair, "Sure I'd prefer you over my brother any day. Now go home before you lose your dog again."

The boy grinned and ran off with his dog waving.

"Huh? You get me in the end? What's that about?" Sakura asked Itachi sceptically as she had a feeling she knew what they were talking about.

"Hmm? Oh nothing just guys stuff." Itachi said smiling at her. "Hey!" he exclaimed as a snow ball collided with his face.

"That's payback for before at the bench!" Sakura called out and stood confidently with a snowball in each hand. Itachi smirked, "You picked the wrong guy to mess with Sakura."

He bent down to make a snowball when another hit him on the nape of his neck, "AH! THAT'S SO CHEAP!" Itachi shouted out, his face showing he didn't appreciate the cold running down his back.

"You're the one who was acting so confident so I decided not to give you a handicap!" Sakura said and threw another one at him then crouched down to make more immediately.

"Ah!" she shrieked as one hit her tights. "It's soaking through!" she squealed as she jumped up and brushed the rest of the snow off before it could soak in.

Itachi laughed maniacally, "You still have a chance little girl. Surrender while I am still lenient."

Sakura laughed in response, "Not a chance!" and threw another snow ball. A war ensued across the park. They each took up a base behind a bench and starting firing snow balls like they had cannons.

"Give up yet! Or did you run out of ammo!" Sakura called out while throwing snow balls. Indeed Itachi had stopped firing snowballs. This was because during Sakura's frenzy she didn't notice Itachi had jumped over the park's low wall and ran around the outside to get her from behind her base at the other entrance.

"AMBUSH!" He shouted out from right behind. Sakura didn't have enough time to react. Itachi pushed her to the ground and she landed on her back, facing him. He was on his knees over her with a snow ball in hand.

"You have to surrender now." he said as he held the snow ball, ready to give the finishing blow.

"Okay fine I surrender. What's the penalty for losing?" Sakura played along. She already knew Itachi was too heavy to push off. The Uchiha smiled evilly.

"You have two options. One, you take the snow to your face. Or two, you have to give me a kiss, right here." he said and pointed to his right cheek with a smirk. Sakura blushed from the sudden request but then relaxed, "I choose number one." she said and lay back, waiting for the impact with eyes closed.

Since her eyes were closed she didn't see Itachi's look of hurt. He looked at her lips and leaned forward slowly, _"What am I doing? Body? Hello? Stop! Even if I DO want to kiss her, I'm pretty sure it'll result in a 'goodnight' and a 'I gotta go now'. So why am I unable to stop myself from moving?"_

He thought as his body moved closer.

"Hello? Impact? Where is it I'm waiting~" Sakura said, eyes closed. "Itachi you there?" she asked and was about to open her eyes when snow collided with her face.

She leaned up and started to spit snow out of her mouth and brush it off her face. When she sat up and pushed Itachi allowed himself to fall backwards into the snow.

"Now who's cheap you pummelled me while I was talking!" Sakura said. When she opened her eyes again and saw Itachi looking pretty dead on the snow she crawled over to him.

"Hey you okay?" she asked. _"I could kiss her right now..."_ Itachi thought as he glanced at her.

"Yup. Just noticing there are a lot of stars out tonight." Itachi said as he looked straight up.

Sakura lay beside him, "This is just like the last night we spent at that hotel in the summer."

"Yup..." Itachi agreed, "But if we stay here any longer my balls are gonna fall off from frostbite."

"T M I!" Sakura shouted out as she got up. "Way to kill the mood Uchiha." she said as she offered a hand to help him up.

_"I could pull her down into an embrace right now..."_ he thought as he held out his hand and used hers to help himself up.

As the two walked down the street Itachi was oddly quiet. Sakura noticed eventually, "Itachi why are you so quiet? Usually you make some retort or comment and we start bickering until one of us sees something we can do!" Sakura joked.

"Because I'm trying restrain myself..." Itachi muttered under his breath, his hands clenched in his pockets.

"Hmm? I didn't quite hear that."

"Sakura-" Itachi stopped walking and turned to the pink-haired girl but she was already on the other side of the road.

"Look! They have **purikura***! Let's take one together!" She called out to him with a big grin. Itachi sighed then smiled at her and nodded once before checking and crossing the road.

***purikura is, um, like a small booth that you can go in and it takes your picture and prints out about 12 little pictures in the form of stickers on a sticker sheet :D***

****

**[INSIDE]**

"Okay we can only take one Itachi so don't spoil it!" Sakura said and pouted.

"Ha-ha are you going to take it like that?" Itachi laughed.

"No!" Sakura shouted back cutely.

"Okay let's hurry up and get this over with!" Itachi said with a smile and Sakura laughed.

He looked at the small camera in the middle of the wall opposite them. A small countdown appeared beside the camera. Itachi braced himself to get ready to smile while Sakura sat and looked at him.

"What?" Itachi asked.

"Nothing get ready!" Sakura called out at two and at one she turned and kissed him on the cheek. The sudden action threw Itachi off and his small smile disappeared and was replaced with a shocked expression, raised eyebrows included.

"Sakura...!" Itachi said in shock. He was utterly speechless after that. Sakura, on the other hand, wasn't looking at him. She was waiting for the stickers to print.

"I wonder what they'll look like?" Sakura hummed happily. Her cheeks were pink.

"Sakura, what was-"

"Oh they're so cute! I'll take half and you take half." she said as she tore the sticker sheet evenly and gave him his share. The Uchiha stared dumbfounded at the stickers.

"Sakura-" Itachi called out but Sakura quickly slipped out of the booth and started walking down the sidewalk.

Itachi leaped out of the booth and ran after the girl. He grabbed her shoulder to stop her from walking so fast.

"Sakura...please tell me...that wasn't a dream...back there." Itachi said between pants.

"A picture tells a thousand words I'm sure it can tell you if something happened or not." the girl said with a smile and turned to walk again.

"Sakura wait!" he called out and turned her around with both hands on her arms.

"Why did you do that awhile ago? I need to know." Itachi asked seriously.

Sakura was a bit startled at the boy's sudden seriousness, "Well, to get you back for all the flirt teasing you've been giving me and every random girl you see, but now you can use that as your desktop background instead of the one from my phone! " Sakura teased.

"You know I think it's late maybe we should just grab something to go and you can drop me home!" Sakura said rushedly as she freed herself from Itachi's strong grip. She took advantage of the feeling of his grip loosening on hearing her explanation.

"That's...it? Just payback?" Itachi said softly. "Itachi? What's up? I took all your teasing before and didn't take it as seriously as you are now so it's not fair to take the pity path now." Sakura scolded him the boy whose bangs shadowed his face.

"Ha. Yeah, I guess you found me out!" Itachi pretended with a big grin.

"Yup! I see right through you." Sakura said confidently before turning around and pointing at a store, "We can buy a hotdog from that vendor right there and then be on our way what do you think?" Sakura said, turning around with a smile.

"Sure." Itachi forced himself to smile but the smile crumbled as Sakura turned back around and walked to the vendor and asked for two hotdogs.

"Come one I can't put ketchup on mine if I'm holding yours!" Sakura called out. She placed the two hotdogs on the guy's shack/booth counter thing [**OMG THERE'S A LIZARD IN MY ROOM KILL EEEEEEEEEEEET ToT!] **and picked up the ketchup to put on her 'dog'.

As soon as Itachi stood beside her the three people - the vendor, a customer, and the vendor's assistant - all started to cheer.

"YES!"

"FINALLY!"

"I KNEW IF I PUT IT THERE WE'D GET A COUPLE**!" [DADDY TO THE RESCUE YAY! FAVORITE. RELATIVE. EVAR...!]**

"Um, excuse me?" Sakura asked for an explanation. In response the vendor pointed up with a smile. The other two were also smiling. Sakura and Itachi both looked up to see, mistletoe hanging from the top of the shack, very unprofessionally attached to middle of the banner held up with two tall sticks that said 'Joe's HotDog Shack'.

Itachi and Sakura both looked at each other with red cheeks. Sakura picked up her hotdog, "Very funny old man but we've gotta get going!" Sakura tried to make an excuse to leave but the owner wouldn't let her,

"Aw come on! It's a tradition in these parts! Once two fall under the mistletoe, you gotta kiss each other!"

"Pleeeaase? No couple has walked under that thing all day it was so BORING! We were about to take it down when the owner saw you guys!" the female assistant pleaded. Sakura's cheeks turned redder, _"But...but it's Itachi! Itachi we're talking about! I couldn't possibly! I mean I know he's directly taken my first indirect kiss and indirectly taken my first direct kiss but I know he wouldn't voluntarily do that! And I wouldn't want to do it if it would cause problems in our friendship..."_ Sakura thought to herself.

"Oh come on, you guys are together so there's no problem right? If you're not, I wouldn't mind getting a smooch from you," the single male customer standing beside Sakura flirted.

The girl shivered and took a step to the left but bumped into Itachi's shoulder.

"Oh sorry um." Sakura was already very jumpy and these people were not helping. Itachi was thinking very hard about how to do this.

_"Okay. This will be it. I'll explain everything. But I'm DEfinitely gonna kiss her right now."_

"Sakura." Itachi said seriously.

The girl turned around quickly then looked at the counter to avoid eye contact, "Y-yes?"

"It IS a tradition...you can take this any way you want to."

Sakura looked at Itachi with wide eyes. She then brought her hands up to her chest and intertwined her fingers while looking at them, "This won't...affect our friendship right?" she said shyly.

"Aww she's so cute!" the assistant squealed.

"I know right! Adorable." the owner commented.

Sakura looked at the people like she wanted to shout out what's-wrong-with-you-people-it's-your-fault-I'm-in-such-a-situation-!-!-!

Itachi sweat dropped, _"I'm not very fond of this audience..."_

"Our friendship will only change if you want it to, Sakura." Itachi said, choosing his words carefully.

Sakura looked back at him. She was really hesitating. Itachi could clearly see that she wasn't sure what to do. But he also knew that at this point, that she wouldn't take it badly and he could at least get a chance to explain.

Itachi stepped closer to Sakura and placed a strong arm around her waist. Sakura gulped. Her cheeks were already deep red. Itachi's face told Sakura that he was seriously set on kissing her.

He pulled her waist even closer with his arm as a reflex she rested her hands on his chest to prevent her face from crashing into his chest. He used his other hand to hold her chin using his index and thumb.

He leaned in closer and Sakura looked like she was going to explode. Her entire face was beet red. Itachi leaned in and stopped a few millimetres from her lips to whisper with half lidded eyes, "You can close your eyes if you want to."

Sakura widened her eyes in shock and from the warm air that touched her lips awhile ago. But slowly closed her eyes, _"I've never seen Itachi like this. He's taking everything so seriously..."_

It happened gently and slowly. Itachi's lips met hers and Sakura opened her mouth more to allow him more access. The Uchiha slipped his tongue cleverly into her mouth which shocked Sakura.

His hand moved from her chin to join his other arm around her waist and Sakura instinctively moved her arms around his neck. The kiss deepened even more, Itachi playing with Sakura's tongue.

_"Is this what it's like...to really kiss someone?...I can't believe this is really happening...ha, my body is moving on its own...I feel like this is...right...I wonder if Itachi was like this with Ino...Ino! Omg Ino is his girlfriend and I'm here kissing him when I'm with his own brother I can't believe I'm doing this!"_ Sakura realized and moved her hands to his chest to push him away but she couldn't move.

When Itachi felt her move away he knew she realized what was going on but he didn't want to let her go.

_"Not...yet...!"_ he thought and moved one hand to hold her head as he deepened the kiss even more, pushing his tongue further and pressing against her lips harder. Sakura was running out of air. She began hitting Itachi's chest to tell him to stop.

A few seconds later Itachi loosened his grip and Sakura managed to push him off and get some air. She pushed so hard she would have fallen if Itachi hadn't kept her standing with his arm around her waist. The hand around her head slid down to her cheek as she pushed away.

The two were panting for air. Sakura also looked like she was ready to faint. Her eyes were half-lidded even though she was arguing with him, as if the kiss had side-effects.

"You...what...were you thinking when...you were kissing me...?" Sakura said between pants.

"I was thinking that...I love you...!" Itachi confessed.

Sakura's eyes went wide, "Wh...what...? What are you...talking about...!"

"Sakura, I love you." Itachi said seriously. Sakura couldn't understand.

"What! But, what about Ino?"

"We were never actually together. She told me that if she pretended to be my girlfriend then you'd get jealous and leave Sasuke. Sakura, I've always loved you. Sasuke's the one who doesn't really love you. In fact, I've actually liked you from the very beginning and Sasuke only went after you because-"

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Sakura shouted as she beat against Itachi's chest until he let go of her. She took two steps back, holding her head.

"Sakura listen I can explai-"

"No I don't want to hear it! I don't know what you're talking about but you just said a lot of information at once and right now I feel like I've been lied to all this time!"

"Sakura..."

Itachi reached out for her but she slapped his hand away, "I don't get you! You tease me constantly. Over and over. She bring my hopes up when you flirt with me but then you throw it back down when you tell me I could never be with you. I'll tell you one thing: I've never NOT taken those words seriously, so you can't tell me you were just joking. And I don't care what you want to say about Sasuke but I'm going to stay faithful to him until I hear it from him directly! I've never said anything bad about you and Ino so I don't want to hear anything bad about Sasuke and me!" Sakura shouted out and turned to run down the street without giving Itachi a chance to speak.

"S-Sakura!" Itachi called out and ran after her down the sidewalk.

Three people were silent.

"...Wow." the owner said.

"Wow indeed." the customer said.

"That was such a steamy kiss omg! And all that drama after it? It's like this is a shoujo manga! If it was I'd SO read it!" the female assistant said beaming. Her cheeks were slightly pink from seeing the kiss up close.

The two men sighed. The customer then looked on the counter, "Hey they left their food!...Can I get it?"

"Sure knock yourself out." the owner said heartily.

As soon as the customer took a bite of one of the hotdogs the owner held out his hand, "That'll be 5 bucks sir."

The customer groaned, "You tricked me you old man. What happened to the season of giving?" the customer complained while taking his wallet out of his pocket.

"Well, I'm really looking forward to the money you'll be giving me for that hot dog! You're a very generous man." The owner said with a smile as the man reluctantly paid for his food.

[STREETS NEAR SAKURA'S HOUSE]

"Sakura wait!" Itachi called out as he ran.

"NO LEAVE ME ALONE I'M GOING HOME!" Sakura shouted back.

"Sakura! Watch out there's a-" Itachi called out but it was too late to warn Sakura about the large crack in the sidewalk and Sakura face planted the ground. Hard.

_"Sigh. I haven't face planted the ground in a while. Miss me ground?"_ Sakura thought as she lay there for a moment. As Itachi closed in on her she heard his footsteps and tried to get up and run away but she could only take one step forward before Itachi caught her.

"Sakura!" he called out to her as he grabbed her left arm and swung it to the right to turn her around. It was all done smoothly. As soon as he turned her around he stepped in and used the other arm behind her back to pull her into an embrace.

"No! Let me go!"

"Sakura." Itachi said seriously.

"Help! Someone!"

"Sakura!" Itachi said louder and Sakura quieted down, scared at his sudden anger.

She felt his strong arms around her and already knew she couldn't escape.

"Let me go you're hurting me!" Sakura complained. Tears were starting to form and she didn't know why. She didn't want to run away from him. In fact, she really wanted to enjoy the embrace. It was the second time she's ever been hugged by him.

"Sakura." Itachi repeated and Sakura quieted down.

"What?" she mumbled like a spoilt child.

"You can hate me all you want. You can think that everything is a lie and never talk to me again but...even if you don't believe a word I said back there just remember this."

"...I love you." he whispered into her ear. "...and I always will. I'll be there for you any time you need me. I'll always come to your rescue. All you have to do is call for me. I won't force you to accept anything. And I'll...I'll leave you alone now to think about everything."

Itachi let go of Sakura and she almost fell. He kept his arms out to support her but didn't touch her. He allowed her to push herself off his arms back up to a standing position.

He allowed her to look at him with tears falling down her cheeks. He watched her swallow hard and sniffle. And he watched her turn around and walk home crying.

He stood in the middle of the street until he saw her enter her house safely and lock the door. Only then, did he turn around to leave.

As soon as Sakura entered her house she ran to the window upstairs to see if Itachi was still there. She just managed to catch his feet slowly walk into the shadow of the dark road, the street light the only lights on the street.

She waited for him to walk into the light of the next street light but he didn't. She waited for about half an hour but after she didn't see him she gave up and went to her room. All the while tears kept falling down her face.

She couldn't process all that happened after the kiss. She didn't want to think about it. There were too many emotions overwhelming her heart and she felt like she was being choked. Eventually she cried herself to sleep.

**END OF CHRISTMAS SPECIAL TAIM! XD**

**You know, while writing this I actually thought about letting Sakura choose Itachi right then and there and make Sasuke look like a fool when he finds out...but that wasn't the original plan so more drama fer yu guys!**

**I HOPE YOU ENJOYED EVERYTHING UP TO THAT KISS BECAUSE I KNOW YOU ENJOYED THAT KISS ROFL XD**

**Please review I luvs reviews whether good or bad! :p**


	25. Chapter 25 finale!

**OM NOM NOM CAN I FINISH THIS BEFORE THE YEAR ENDS LET'S FIND OUT! XD**

**Oh I love your reviews guys. Especially when you go and point out all my flaws...and make me second think my chapters...now that I think about it, the end of this story's gonna be so lame now I apologize in advance u.u**

**Oh and xXcookies898Xx, the lizard went squish sorry...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...or deviantart!**

+ The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom +

Chapter 25

_Narrator__: ...just as the cherry blossom is about to land, the Uchiha fan hits it, sending it spiralling straight for impact, but it is saved by the gentle arms of the weasel and placed softly on the ground, signifying the end of its journey..._

The rest of the holiday passed quietly. Sakura blocked Itachi's number just in case he tried to call her and found as many things as possible to occupy herself with. She therefore managed to finish all her winter homework; cleaned the house everyday; cook a feast everyday and go into shelters to serve them meals; deepened her friendship with Hinata; spontaneously started one with Tenten; and progressed in her deviations on .

School would start on the 3rd of January and Sakura prepared her New Years Resolutions from the **Day After Boxing Day** **[I'm gonna change the name and make that a holiday one day]. **She pasted the resolution paper on the back of her door and top of her mirror so when she woke up and got ready on the first day of school she'd still remember what they were.

In fact, it really was only one main resolution that she wanted to see the outcome of. Apart from the usual get good grades in school and make and maintain friends, the main one was at the bottom of the page.

_"Make my relationship with Sasuke public."_

Sakura didn't forget or ignore anything Itachi told her that night. In fact, she currently remembered it more than anything else in her life. But that didn't mean she was just going to give up and switch boyfriends: that would just make her a slut...and Itachi a rebound guy.

Then all the girls would flock to support Sasuke and she'd look like the bad guy. Instead, she planned to make a situation where she could openly call Sasuke as her boyfriend and make the entire school body know. Karin was really her only threat and even though she always argued with her, Sakura could tell the red-head wouldn't have as much time to bother her with Suigetsu around.

To be even more on the safe side, Sakura made a note to declare her relationship when Karin wasn't around. If Sasuke truly loved her then, he wouldn't mind the declaration and life would continue shortly after. However, if Itachi was right and Sasuke didn't really love her, then she'd be able to pick it up. She had also spent most of her nights watching soap operas and dramas so she could pick up certain things that are hidden to the average person.

However, she really hoped Itachi wasn't right.

School started back and Sakura did her best to avoid everyone but Sasuke. She quickly found the younger Uchiha hanging out with Karin and Suigetsu and skipped towards the trio.

"Hey Sasuke-kun! Suigetsu!" Sakura called out as she headed over. The two guys turned on hearing their names.

"Sakura-chan! Perfect! Help Karin realize she's in love with me." Suigetsu said in a normal voice. Sakura blinked twice, completely thrown off by Suigetsu's blunt request.

"Um, why don't you escort her to class? I'm sure she'd appreciate it." Sakura suggested with a sweat drop.

"Great idea! Let's go _honey_." Suigetsu teased as he whisked the red-head off her feet and carried the fighting girl down the corridor.

Sakura turned to Sasuke with pink cheeks, "Um, would you mind escorting me to class as well?"

"..."

"You don't have to lift me up! Honest!"

"...Hn." Sasuke said and walked ahead but slow enough that she could catch up.

Sakura beamed and skipped until she was beside him. As the two walked in silence she decided to try something. She moved her hand to hold his but as soon as she touched his he snapped his hand away and gave her a glare and walking off.

_"Ouch...that was mean...maybe Itachi was right...but Sasuke could just be in a bad mood since it's morning. Maybe he's not a morning person. I can't just let it go that easily."_ she thought and followed him to class.

In class Sakura offered to share her text with Sasuke but the boy declined since Karin was already sitting beside him with hers. The red-head stuck out her tongue.

_"First come first serve I guess... but I'm not done yet!"_

In the next class everyone was working quietly when Sasuke realized he didn't have his eraser with him.

"Crap...eraser..." he mumbled to himself as he looked at him mistake on the paper.

"Don't worry you can borrow mine!" Sakura chirped and quickly put hers on his desk before Karin could take hers out of her bag. "...hn."

As the bell rang and everyone left Sakura stuck her tongue back out at Karin. The day quickly passed and it was time for Math II. Sakura sighed to herself before opening the door and entering.

_Why is it that I must be on bad terms with Itachi and this class all the time...?"_

As she thought that, however, she had a flashback of her day out with Itachi on Christmas Day and her face immediately flushed on remembering an event.

_"Well, maybe we're not on bad terms but...after how I reacted, he probably thinks we're on bad terms and if he does then his entire brotherhood shares his pain."_ Sakura thought as she opened the door.

She greeted the class and surprisingly got back a normal greeting. The girl paused and surveyed the room. Itachi was inside, at his desk, reading a comic book.

_"Well He seems normal." _

Sakura walked to her seat and sat down, taking out her stuff at her leisure. Unfortunately, the 'normal' atmosphere was getting to her and she turned around.

"Hey Itachi what are you reading?" She inquisited.

"Comic Book. Adventure Storm." the boy replied without emotion. He looked like he was engrossed in the series.

"What's it about?" Sakura refused to be ignored. She wanted to know if he was avoiding her on purpose or was really okay.

"Hero saving the world. Normal comic book stuff." the boy answered.

A vein popped on Sakura's forehead. She grabbed the Itachi's cheeks and lifted his face up to look at her, "What's wrong with you!" she shouted.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Why aren't you talking to me!"

"I AM talking to you."

"That's not what I mean!"

"Then what DO you mean?"

Sakura tried to send her frustration to Itachi through her eyes but the boy staring back at her with a slightly confused face, unaware as to why she felt so angry since he hadn't talked to her all day.

Giving up on sending emotions through vision, the pink-haired girl sighed loudly and turned around. Itachi rubbed his cheeks and muttered and ow.

"ow~"

"SHOOSH!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The class stared at the two wondering what was wrong this time. Kakashi entered the class and began starting his lesson. Itachi didn't bother her or try to talk to her for the entire class and Sakura felt really irritated. When Kakashi asked her a question the girl snapped at him but quickly apologized and asked to be excused. After her teacher allowed it Sakura quickly left the class room.

Everyone watched her with worried looks. As soon as the door was closed all eyes glared at Itachi. The Uchiha sweat dropped.

Sakura went to one of the open windows lining the corridor and looked out. She sighed as she watched the first years playing outside.

_"Even if I was confused all the time and didn't know if Sasuke liked me or not, last year I think I was much happier than I am now...why isn't Itachi talking to me like before? I mean, I know he IS but, it just feels different now..."_

She remembered the last things he said to her that night, _"I'll leave you alone now to think about everything."_

_"Is this what he meant when he said he was going to leave me alone?...at least he's not totally ignoring me..."_ Sakura thought to herself, trying to be optimistic.

The bell soon rang signalling the end of school and all the classroom doors opened, students piling out like starved slaves in front of a food truck **[ignore my simile I'm special :D]**

Sakura turned to head back to the class room and get her things when she saw Itachi walking to her with her bag.

"Here. I was going to look for you in the nurse's office. Didn't expect to find you so soon." Itachi said with a small smile.

Sakura looked at him with sad eyes until she processed what he said, "Oh right! Heehee. Just needed some fresh air for a bit." she lied.

"Kay. See you tomorrow." he said as he walked past her towards the exit.

Sakura clenched her jaw as he walked past her. She turned and grabbed his shirt, "Itachi wait!" she called out. Itachi turned around and stared at her. She stared back at him.

"...yes?"

"! Oh uh, did we get any homework?"

"Yeah I wrote a copy for you in your book. Hope you can read it." the boy said with a thumbs up before turning to leave. He looked back at her and her cheeks flared, "Can you let go of my shirt now? You're stretching it..."

"! Sorry! Didn't mean to..." the girl apologized and let go of his shirt quickly, looking down at her bag.

"Yeah. Bye!" he called out as he walked down the hall way. Sakura looked back up and watched him leave, hands in pockets.

_"My heart jumped when he turned back around but, what did I want him to say? And why did I call out to him? What did I want to say?"_ Sakura thought before sighing and walking towards the exit as well. On exiting the building she caught a glimpse of Sasuke and ran towards him. He was talking to Ino or rather, she was talking to him.

Sakura latched on to his arm, "Hey Sasuke-kun~" she purred as she looked up at the boy with slight blush.

"S-Sakura?" The Uchiha said in bewilderment.

"Mind if I escort you to your limo? You can think of it as payment for **walking me to class**." Sakura emphasized the last part as she looked at Ino with a look that said 'step OFF'.

The blonde scoffed and flashed her hair before walking off, obviously angry.

"Whatever." Sasuke said and walked with the girl towards the exit.

After a few seconds of walking with hooked arms Sakura spoke up, "You don't speak much do you?"

"...nope."

"..."

Sakura didn't know how to reply to that. _"Well, at least he hasn't said anything about me hooking arms with him!"_ she thought to herself with a smile. As if on que, the Uchiha looked at her and said, "Can you let go?"

"Say please." Sakura played cutely.

"No. Let go." the boy said firmly and Sakura reluctantly let go of his arm, _"Geez, he's so harsh."_

On reaching the limo Sasuke immediately went into his car and drove off without saying a word to her. Sakura was shocked at his rudeness. She called out, "By Sasuke-kun! See you tomorrow!"

She watched the vehicle drive over the hill and disappear. She sighed to herself and turned around, _"Doesn't look like I'm progressing at all..."_

However, as she turned around almost every girl on the courtyard campus was glaring at her. Feeling the rising tension and having nothing else to do in the place, Sakura took a hint and turned around to head home via sidewalk.

_"Wow that was really unpleasant atmosphere. Maybe they were jealous! They should be! I AM his girlfriend after all!"_ Sakura thought to herself conceitedly as she skipped home with a smile as wide as ever.

"I'm home!" Sakura called out as she entered the house but it was empty.

"Still not home yet huh?' Sakura said softly to herself as she went upstairs to bathe. She made dinner and did her homework before going to sleep, leaving some just in case the Santa who never brought presents decided to come back from her 'work trip'.

The next morning she went downstairs ready for school and was surprised to see the pot of stew she cooked empty. She looked around with wide eyes but no one was in any of the rooms. She raced back upstairs and burst through her mother's door, but the room was also empty.

_"So that means she came...and left again! She really came into this house; ate the food that I cooked; then had the audacity to leave without even telling me she came in the first place!"_ Sakura thought as she stamped down the stairs once more and left her house.

"LOOKS LIKE YOU GAINED SOME WEIGHT FROM ALL THAT CHRISTMAS HAM LITTLE GIRL FELT LIKE AN EARTHQUAKE WHEN YOU WALKED DOWN THOSE STEPS!" the lady next door called out from her window as Sakura walked past her house.

"YEAH? WELL NOW YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ANY TIME YOU PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN!" Sakura shouted back.

"Why you- YOU WAIT TILL I COME DOWN THERE AND GET YOU!" the woman called out as she headed for her front door to confront the girl.

Sakura ran down the sidewalk shouting, "OH NO ANOTHER EARTHQUAAAAAKE!" and laughed as she caught a glimpse of the woman in the distance, wringing her fists in the air as she shouted incoherent words.

Sakura soon reached the bus stop and was surprised to the see the bus still there.

"Wow you just reached? Looks like I'll beat you again today!" Sakura called out from behind the horde of people trying to squeeze through the single man door at the same time. The bus driver turned to Sakura, "Hey! Why don't you hop on this time? I'll give you a ride on me!"

Sakura widened her eyes in shock. That was NOT the response she expected from him, "What's with the sudden generosity?" she called back.

"Just trying to be nicer this year! New year and all. Running a bit late since I'm trying to get people closer to where they need to go this time." the conductor replied with a smile. Sakura smiled back, "I'll take a ride to Green Leaf High School then please." as she entered the bus.

"Since that's closest, First Stop! Green Leaf High School!" he shouted out so everyone on the bus knew where they were going. The bus reached its destination shortly and the congregation gaped and made sounds of awe and envy as they saw the limousines parked on both sides of the sidewalk.

"Wow you go to this school? I would've never thought with the way you acted you could ever get in to such a place" the man said and grinned at her.

"Sakura laughed, "Normally I'd reprimand you for that but I still can't believe it either." she said and knocked her head gently with a grin.

"So...is there a bus stop anywhere? I only see fancy limo parking signs." the man said as he drove slowly on the road, approaching the limos.

"You can stop here if you want you know I've walked longer distances as you can see-"

"There's one on top of that hill right there!" a woman called out from one of the seats behind and the driver looked to see the red octagon on a pole a few metres ahead.

"Okay hold on guys it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" the man called out as he pressed on the gas.

"Hold on the limos are parked on both sides of the road there's no way you'll make it through unless you ram all of them aside!" Sakura shouted out.

"That's why I said its gonna be a bumpy ride!" the man said back with a grin, determination flames burning in his eyes. Sakura gulped as the public vehicle rammed the shiny black and white beauties off the road entirely, some being flipped onto their backs.

After getting through the chaos the bus limply made it to the bus stop and stopped to let Sakura off. Their were two grey rectangles on both sides of the bus that extended the vehicle's entire length: indicating the height of the limos that were rammed.

"The paint's been peeled off you know!" Sakura called out.

"Eh, don't worry about it." the driver said and waved her off.

"EXCUSE ME! Just WHAT was going through your mind awhile ago sir! You flipped my limousine! You probably dented it as well! How are you going to pay for this!" a student called out as they stamped down the sidewalk to the bus.

"Hey this is a public vehicle so if you have any problems then take it up with the company or the government! Chao!" the driver called out and sped down the road and out of sight.

Sakura tried to walk past the students whose limos were damaged unseen, but failed. They all ganged her.

"YOU! You commoner! This was all YOUR idea wasn't it?"

"You told that driver to do this because you KNEW it wouldn't affect you or him directly but it would affect US directly!"

"How DARE you! The audacity!"

"You were so envious of our wealth that you couldn't stand it huh!"

"Guys! Guys! Guys!" Sakura called out over the shouts.

"It wasn't my idea! Honest! That driver is crazy! I told him to stop and let me off before we even reached the school but he wouldn't stop!" Sakura defended herself but it was in vain.

"Yeah right like we should believe a commoner!"

"You better find some way to pay us back for this! I want my limo in tip top shape!"

"But she probably couldn't even afford the repairs for one, much less ALL of them..."

"How about she buy us lunch for a week?"

"Can she even do that?"

"But we can't lower it too much or it'll look like we're pitying her."

"Then dessert! She has to at LEAST be able to afford that..."

The students mumbled their agreement amongst each other. Sakura sweat dropped, _"These guys...I can't believe them. I could SO buy them ALL lunch for a week...but I don't mind paying for dessert only~"_

"It has been decided! Haruno Sakura! You will buy us all dessert for a week! You will buy them and stand at our table so we can all take our share!"

"Fine. Fine, whatever." Sakura waved them off before entering the school.

"How rude!" one of them said before the group went to check on their vehicles.

Sakura suddenly felt the tension from yesterday building back up as she walked down the everlasting walkway to the school building.

_"Stupid walkway why can't you cut in half one day!"_ Sakura thought to herself as she tried her best to ignore them.

On entering the building she went to her locker. On her way, however, she saw Itachi walking towards her. She tensed but tried to act normal. It was easy for the Uchiha to act natural and he walked past her as if he didn't know her at all. Even his face showed no signs of intentional avoiding.

"Itachi!" Sakura called out desperately as she watched him walk away. The boy stopped walking and turned around with a worried face, "Yes? What's wrong?"

Sakura stared at him incredulously, "You...you just walked past me!"

"Uh, yes. I did." Itachi said, restating the obvious.

"But you didn't say hi or good morning or anything!"

"Well, you didn't either so aren't we both at blame here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well yes but...but..." Sakura couldn't find the words she wanted to say.

Itachi sighed, "Good morning Sakura."

"Good...good morning." Sakura said softly. She looked at him with eyes trying to convey an emotion she didn't want to admit to yet. But again in vain.

Itachi, noticing the silence between the two nodded, "Okay! Well! Since this conversation is heading nowhere! See you in Math later!" he called out and walked down the corridor.

Sakura was about to head after him when a herd of girls appeared out of nowhere. One of them slammed their hand against the locker in front of Sakura, to get her attention off of Itachi and onto them.

"Haruno Sakura!" the girl called out and Sakura jumped.

"Y-yes! Ino?" Sakura said in confusion.

The blonde took her hand off the locker to cross it with the other one over her chest, "You're really something you know Sakura. I've noticed you've become a bit cocky lately. Since WHEN did you think it was okay to hog Sasuke-kun all to yourself?" Ino asked loudly.

Shouts of agreement with Ino were heard from the other girls surrounding Sakura.

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been hanging on to him and forcing yourself into the little group of friends he talks to ever since school started and it's pissing us off!"

"YEAH!" the girls shouted out.

"Well obviously! What do you expect? I'm his GIRLFRIEND!" Sakura shouted back and stunned all the girls in the hallway.

"WHAT?" they all shouted back.

"I am Sasuke's girlfriend!" Sakura repeated.

"What?" this time a male voice said and all the girls whipped their heads around instantly to see none other than Sasuke, standing beside Karin and Suigetsu.

Suigetsu was grinning, "Woo! Go Sakura!"

"Excuse me!" Karin shouted out and joined the group of women hating on Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun...tell them I'm your girlfriend they won't believe me!" Sakura called out to the Uchiha.

But Sasuke, only smirked. In fact, his smirk turned into a laugh. A very loud one. Eventually he calmed down, "Oh Sakura. I can't believe this is happening! And you did it on your own too..." he said to himself with a smirk.

"What?" Sakura asked, confused.

The boy looked at her with a face that made her shiver, "Sakura. I can't understand why you thought I accepted you as my girlfriend?" Sasuke said.

"Huh? But, all those times you talked to me-"

"I talk to many people Sakura. You're no one special."

"But you would personally seek me out! And you played with my hair! And you were so close, and you whispered in my ear..." Sakura trailed off. She was feeling like she had been lied to all this time.

Itachi had forgotten something from his locker and so he turned around to get it back and soon saw the crowd taking up the entire hallway.

"You let me hang out with you and Suigetsu and Karin! And you never told me it bothered you! And when we all went on the summer trip, we shared a room together and everything! You treated me so nicely, and you acted like you were my boyfriend so many times!" Sakura shouted out. She was beginning to look desperate.

Murmurs were been spread amongst the crowd as the girls had never heard of any of this, especially the trip.

"Sakura, I was just taking pity on you since it was obvious you had no other friends. Look around. Nobody likes you Sakura. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but I never once said that you were my girlfriend. You just assumed things, like most girls do." the boy said with the same smile Sakura thought had always been sincere.

"Wa...wha..." Sakura couldn't speak. She was shocked beyond belief. And all the was going through her head was _"Itachi, you were right."_

Tears were beginning to form in her eyes, but no one was planning on stopping yet. Especially not Ino and Karin, now that they knew for sure that Sasuke had no interest in the pink-haired girl in front of them.

"So Sasuke-kun," Ino started, "All those times you took the time to talk to Sakura was just because you thought it would be nice if SOMEONE talked to her at least ONCE per day?" Ino rubbed it in.

"Exactly. Just my own generosity." the boy replied.

"See Sakura? I TOLD you. MY Sasuke-kun could NEVER like you and he never WILL! You should've listened when I told you to stay away from him! But you didn't! And now do you see what it got you?" Karin rubbed it in too before throwing back her head and cackling like a witch.

Sakura slumped against the lockers and slowly slid down onto her knees. Tears were falling freely down her cheeks. She didn't try to stop them because she knew they wouldn't stop even if she tried.

"Sakura. I could NEVER like a COMMONER like you. You're too oblivious, bubbly, and clumsy, that the world could pass you by twice and you wouldn't even realize it. Someone like you couldn't help me anywhere in the future. You'd be a useless wife for me." Sasuke said with a cocky expression on his face.

Sakura stared at him with wide eyes. The boy on the outskirts of the crowd began pushing through even before she could find her voice. She looked down at her knees and tried to remember something, anything.

Everyone around her was cackling, laughing and bashing her with comments about how she was so stupid and conceited to think she ever had a chance.

She clenched her fists in front of her chest and shouted out as loud as she could, "ITACHIIIIII!"

"I'm here." Itachi immediately said softly beside her, his hands on her shoulders. She turned to him with wide eyes.

"I'm right here. I told you I would if you called." he said with a warm smile amidst all the jeering and laughing.

Realization hit from that night and the tears flowed even faster, "Itachi!" she called out and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her around her mid back in response.

"What do you-"

"Get me out of here" she said in a muffled voice. Her head buried into her arms and his shoulder.

"Yes, my princess." he said softly so only she could hear and smiled when he felt her tighten her embrace around him. He lifted her up keeping one hand on her back and putting the other under her knees as he stood up. The crowd suddenly noticed the boy who entered the crowd.

"Itachi what are you doing? Put her down we're not done with her yet!" Ino called out to the guy but his death glare turned her silent. Of course the other girls didn't notice this and continued to shout at Sakura.

Karin too called to him, "You too are probably better off with each other! The idiot and the player! She'll never suspect you of cheating!" Karin shouted out and laughed loudly. All the other girls joined in.

He felt Sakura's grip tighten again and was about to speak up when he saw his brother, smirking evilly at him.

"It looks like I've smashed her heart into so many little pieces big brother. What will you do now?"

Itachi glared at Sasuke, "No matter how long it takes, I'll put it back together and replace you with me in it!" he shouted out defiantly before turning and forcing himself through the crowd.

Sasuke glared bitterly at him as he carried Sakura outside. He cursed under his breath and walked off down the corridor. Suigetsu was leaning against the lockers and watching the entire scene.

He watched Sasuke with dull and disappointed eyes as the Uchiha stormed past him and down the corridor. Some of the girls had begun to follow Itachi and Sakura, still shouting bad things, but when they heard the other girls squeal they turned around and sprinted to catch up with the group following Sasuke.

****

**[OUTSIDE IN THE COURTYARD]**

Itachi walked to the tree of lunch memories. He leaned to place Sakura down but as she felt herself leaving him she tightened her embrace again to show that she didn't want him to let go of her.

Itachi sighed, "Sakura..." but she wouldn't budge. He sighed again and fixed her so that she sat in his lap under the tree, her legs hanging over his thigh.

"Everyone's gone now you can let go."

"I don't want to!" came the muffled response that shocked Itachi.

"Wh-What?" he asked, puzzled at her actions.

"I never want to...I never want to let go of you again!" Sakura shouted into his shirt.

"Sakura...?" Itachi's cheeks were slightly pink.

"I'm sorry but...could we just stay like this for a while?" Sakura asked.

Itachi gulped but smiled, "Sure." He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes, feeling the wind blow against his face.

After 'a while' had passed, Itachi felt Sakura's grip loosening a bit.

"Sakura?" he asked quietly but there was no response. He shook her shoulder gently and felt her slump a little.

"Heh. Looks like you cried yourself to sleep." he said softly as he moved her around so that her legs were between his and she could rest comfortably on his chest. He smiled as he watched the wind blow her hair and the calm expression on her face.

"I hope you're having a pleasant dream." he whispered.

A few minutes later Sakura stirred and Itachi opened his eyes.

_"I'm leaning on something soft and warm. It's also broad. Like a man's chest..."_ Sakura was sleeping on her side and when she woke up she pressed a hand on Itachi's chest to push herself up. She turned and looked at what or who she was resting on with half open eyes.

"Itachi..."

"Good morning again, Sakura." he said with a smile.

A few seconds passed before Sakura realized what was going on, "! I'm so sorry I can't believe I fell asleep and I didn't even thank you for saving me or anything!"

Itachi sweat dropped at the girl flailing around in front of him, "You can still thank me now." he said.

Sakura calmed down, "Oh right! Well, ahem, than-" but Itachi put a finger to her lips.

"No, no, no. That won't do. I don't want my thank you in words. I want in the form of a kiss." he said with a sly smirk as Sakura's cheeks turned red.

"Itachi...I don't think I can do that...at least not now...if I do, I'd feel like I'm using you...and everyone else would just think me and you are-"

"Sakura." Itachi said again putting his finger to her lips to silence her, "at this point, I really couldn't care less about what those people think. They hurt you and that's all I care about. You shouldn't care about them either."

"..."

Itachi cupped her cheeks in his hands, "I'm not forcing you to do anything, but if you keep caring about what others will think of you then you'll never be happy. On the other hand, if you just think about what I think of you, you'll always be happy!" he said with a grin.

Sakura blushed, "Itachi!" she said in embarrassment and Itachi chuckled.

"I told you I'll always be here didn't I? I still will be. But I'm holding you to that thank you." he teased but was shocked when Sakura cupped his own cheeks and kissed him gently.

It was a short kiss and when she leaned back she whispered, "I don't like owing people anything." with a smile.

Itachi smirked back at her and slid his arms around her, pulling her back for another kiss. Sakura allowed him to kiss her but then pushed him off.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked, afraid of something like their Christmas Day kiss.

"I can't just move onto another guy as soon as I get dumped that's wrong! And then it'll look like you're just a rebound guy!" Sakura shouted out and flailed chibi style.

Itachi sighed and leaned back on the grass, "Hey I don't mind..." he said lazily but Sakura turned around to reprimand him, motherly instincts kicking in, "That's because you're too used to it since you had a previous reputation as a lady's man! You need to get out of that habit!"

"And I told you that you can help me lose that habit with your body." he said as he pulled her hand to make her fall onto his chest.

"That's it." Sakura said as she pushed herself back up.

"What's it?"

"I'm gonna make you suffer." Sakura said as she stood up and tried to remove the wrinkles from her clothes.

"Come again?" the Uchiha said, sitting up from his position.

Sakura turned around to face him and pointed, "I'm not going to give you a chance until next month!"

"WHAT! Sakura, you can't be serious."

"Oh but I AM." Sakura said with a smirk of he own.

Itachi looked at her, then started to laugh.

"Wh-what's so funny!" Sakura argued.

"It's your face! What kind of look is that!"

"I'm smirking! You Uchihas do it all the time so I'm going to do it too! I can be cool too you know!"

At that sentence Itachi's laughter became even louder. Sakura pouted, "Fine! Make that two months!" She shouted out as she turned around and started to head back to the school building.

Itachi's laughter stopped immediately, "Wait what? Sakura? Sakura! No wait! I was joking! You can look cool too!" he shouted out and started to laugh as he said that line.

"You're still laughing!" Sakura shouted out and began to run to the building. Itachi ran after her, still laughing.

On entering the building, class had just ended but luckily it was time for Math II so Sakura was fine. At least her class supported her with Itachi and didn't like Sasuke.

Unfortunately, because class had just ended all the female students walking around were glaring at Sakura,

"It looks like the COMMONER is back guys!" one of the girls shouted out and a guy turned around, "Oh hey Sakura!" and waved. Sakura waved back with a smile and Itachi snickered.

The girl sighed and shouted out even louder, "It looks like the commoner is back GIRLS!" getting the female student body's attention.

"I didn't think you had the GUTS to come back COMMONER!"

"YEAH!

"After your playa of a prince charming swept you away you think you got some confidence?"

"Don't tell me you've moved on already?"

"GASP!"

"You little slut!"

"I can't believe we HAVE someone like you in our school!"

"Well I guess the only reason you could move so fast is because Itachi is a ladies man!"

"Yeah he's probably just feeling sorry for you!"

"Slut! They're brothers!"

"She must be after their wealth!"

"I can't believe commoners nowadays!"

Sakura began to feel small and took a step back but Itachi noticed this and spoke up, "Why don't you girl stop talking badly about Sakura and try getting a man to look at you at least twice for a change?"

Sakura looked up at Itachi and he smiled at her. The girls scoffed and flashed their hair. Some slammed their lockers and others just ran off.

"Race you to class!" Itachi said as he ran down the hall.

"No fair! You cheater!"

"I won't cheat anymore! I promise!" he called out and Sakura blushed.

"Two months!"

"If I reach class first you have to take off that second month!"

"...Too much!"

"Fine! Two weeks!"

"!" One of the girls in the hallway tripped Sakura and the girl hit the ground. Hard.

_"Ah yes. Sweet, sweet ground. We meet again."_ Sakura thought before getting back up. As she did so the girl that tripped her spoke up, "Looks like Sasuke-kun was right! This commoner IS clumsy!"

The three girls with her cackled at Sakura but Itachi stopped running and turned around, "Even if she IS clumsy, I know one guy that still likes her!" he shouted out with a smirk and Sakura blushed.

She took the opportunity to pass him, "Two months!" she called out as she took the corner.

"Wh-HEY! THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR STICKING UP FOR YOU? Take off a week for that come on that was basically a confession!" Itachi shouted out as he took the corner and followed after Sakura.

"No way!" Sakura shouted back and giggled.

But Itachi was faster and passed Sakura with a burst of speed right before she reached the classroom.

"I WIN!" he shouted out as he slammed the door before running into the classroom.

Sakura shouted out in frustration before wimpily hitting the door and entering, "Fine. I lose."

"Now you HAVE to take off a month!" Itachi said with hands crossed over his chest.

"I never agreed to that you just shouted it out randomly and I already told you two months!"

"But that's not fair! Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase~!" Itachi begged on his knees.

Sakura crossed her hands over her chest this time, "Nope!"

Itachi then crawled over to her and hugged her legs, "PRETTY PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAASEE!"

Sakura sighed, her cheeks pink just from his touch, "I'll take off half of the second month but that's it." she muttered, looking out the window and trying to be cool without her smirk.

Itachi jumped up, "YES!"

He then cleared his throat, stood straight and turned to face the class that was looking at him like he was a maniac.

"Hey guys!" he called out to everyone, "In a month and a half," and pulled Sakura to him by the waist, "Sakura's gonna be my girlfriend."

There was a silence for a few seconds **[guys gotta process and think about the long term meaning of Itachi's sentence]** then all the guys jumped up and attacked the two like Sakura was the ball and they were the American Football team.

" HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" They all shouted out as they took turns jumping onto the future couple.

"Finally!" Hidan and Kisame shouted out.

"Don't worry Hidan. You'll find your girl soon enough." Kakuzu siad and patted Hidan's head.

"Shut up! You don't know how I feel at all!" the guy shouted back blushing slightly.

"Isn't this Déjà vu Sakura?" Itachi asked from on top of her with a smile and a sweat drop.

"Yeah we just changed positions. From the wall to the floor. Haha." Sakura said and tried her best to smile under so much pressure, even though Itachi was taking most of it by protecting her.

The boy above her suddenly blushed and Sakura blushed from seeing his expression, "What are you thinking about Itachi!"

"It's just that...you said from the wall to the floor and-"

"SISTER IN LAW!" The fattest guy shouted out before jumping but everyone moved just in time and so instead of flattening them all he just belly flopped the ground.

After he hurt the ground all the guys gathered around him, "Oh no! God-Brother! Are you okay!" they took turns shouting that out as they teamed up to roll him onto his back. "I add my blessings to you, my fellow brethren. May you live in peace..." the boy said before fainting. All the guys exclaimed in worry and teamed up to haul him to the nurse's office.

Sakura sweat dropped, _"It's amazing how they act like it's not their fault even though he got hurt because they moved..."_ Sakura thought but her thoughts were interrupted when she felt two arms slide around her waist.

She suddenly felt two lips on her neck, "I don't know if I can wait that long..." Itachi said quietly so only she could hear and the other guys busily getting the god brother out wouldn't notice.

Sakura felt like she was about to melt from his breath on her neck but she quickly broke out of her trance and hit him on the head with a book on a nearby desk, "TWO MONTHS TWO MONTHS!" she shouted as she followed the retreating boy and continued to hit his head with the book.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! I'll be patient!" Itachi apologized even though he was laughing.

Sakura's entire face was red, "Good! You better wait!"

The Uchiha smirked, "But I know you liked that~" he teased her.

"Shoosh!" she said and slapped him on the shoulder before walking past him with book, ready to swipe, until she reached her chair. Itachi followed her, his smirk growing,

"Your body was about to go limp if I continued."

"Shoosh!" she called out as she walked.

"You even moved your head away so I could reach your neck easier~"

"I WILL hit you!"

"I wonder how loud you would've moaned a while ago if I continued~"

"I WILL HIT YOU UNTIL YOUR UNCONSCIOUS!" Sakura said as she dropped into her chair.

"I want to find your special spot-" Itachi whispered in her ear and her entire face and neck turned red in an instant. She jumped up to hit him as hard as she could with the book when Kakashi entered the class room,

"Calm down Itachi it's only a month and a half." the guy said nonchalantly as he walked to his desk and placed his books on the desk.

The teacher voice stopped Sakura's hostility and the girl sat down and calmed herself, "Exactly." she said quietly, her face still deep red.

Itachi snickered at her reaction, "Okay fine. But I'm pretty sure this time period will be cut down some more." Itachi said as he took two steps to his desk behind her.

And Class went on.

Just as Sakura had managed to calm down she felt three fingers playing with her ear. She swerved around with her math phone book in hand in the air, "I SAID TWO MONTHS!"

"Oh GOD IT'S THE PHONE BOOK!" Itachi shouted out and cringed, hands above his head, "Not the face!"

"Sakura..." Kakashi called to the girl with a sweat drop.

The girl turned around and apologized. "Is it possible to switch seats until a month and a half is over?" Sakura pleaded.

"Sorry Sakura but there are no empty seats in this class. Yours was the only one until you came." Kakashi said apologetically. His face showed he understood her predicament.

"Yup. You're stuck with me forever. You should just face it and take off the time preiod."

"One month and a half!"

"We all know you're just stalling."

"Does ANYONE want to switch seats with me!" Sakura called out to the class but all the guys were smiling and smirking at her.

"What's wrong Sakura?"

"I thought you liked that seat?"

They all teased her and laughed. Sakura scowled in her chair. As soon as the bell rang Sakura dashed out of the classroom.

"Sakura!" Itachi called out.

"Two months!" Sakura shouted out without looking back as she left.

"Month and a half!" Itachi shouted back before sighing into a smile. He happily packed up his things, as did the other classmates, for all brethren share the joy of one. **[LOL]**

The days went by like this and Sakura kept using her time period as an excuse to escape the Uchiha's clutches.

An everyday as Sakura walked towards the exit in the courtyard all the guys from Math II would open the class window and call out to her. She would always turn to see Itachi grinning amongst the guys in the classroom, who were always more than willing to embarrass her out of love. She had officially been welcomed into the brotherhood afterall. They did it every day, even after the time period:

**"HEY SAKURA! ITACHI FROM MATH II SAYS HE LOVES YOU!"**

Just to make sure she never forgot.

**TADAA THE STORY'S FINALLEH DONE WOO HOOT! lol**

**I hope you guys liked it. I know I loved this chapter. Everything after Sasuke XD.**

**I plan on writing an omake/extra for 'after the time period' so don't worry. I just wanted to finish this story before the New Year! :p**

**Please review and tell me what you think! I hope you enjoyed it! Read my other stories if you're interested :p**


	26. Chapter 26 omake! part 1 :p

**OMAKE TAIM TAIM XDDDDD!**

**I know you all want this so hear it is! XP**

**But SIGH, I can't believe people want to meet Mrs. Uchiha again! I thought you'd forget about her if I didn't mention her for a few chapters...I blame Itachi for talking about her on Christmas...punk xI**

**Oh well here it is! :p**

+ The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom +

Chapter 26 - Omake - PART 1

_Narrator__: ...it is spring once again...the sight of cherry blossoms falling is really very beautiful..._

"Okay guys listen up because it's finally here!" Ino shouted into the microphone on the stage. Her year below her covered their ears and groaned in pain.

"Ino you don't have to scream into the mike it already amplifies your voice." Hinata said on behalf of the students in pain.

"Oh be quiet Hinata! Ever since you got that makeover you've been acting so high and mighty lately!" the blonde spat back and Hinata sighed.

"Not like she needs a mike anyways..." Tenten commented.

"I heard that!" Ino snapped before turning back to the poor children that were forced to listen to the announcement.

"As I was SAYING. Now that we're no longer a group of freshmen, I have acquired some power within the student council." she started her speech boastfully.

"Get on with it your voice is annoying!" one of the guys shouted out and the students laughed before Ino roared at them to shut up.

"Moving right along, this spring break I am arranging for the school to have a spring break party before the holidays!"

"WOOOOOOOOO~!" the students cheered.

"And you're all going to help me do it!"

There was a silence as the cheers stopped instantly. After a few seconds of staring they realized Ino was serious and started to file out of the auditorium one by one.

"W-Wait! Um, if you help out you won't have to pay for a ticket to enter! It's going to be really exclusive and we'll have surprise guest musicians so it'll be like having VIP passes!"

Some of the students stopped but a lot of the others just fanned her off. Ino was looking like she was about to jump off stage and beg people to come back when she suddenly thought of something.

With a coy smile she opened her mouth, "Did I mention that this thing is not going to be chaperoned at all?"

At that moment everyone else froze in their place.

_"Ha! Got them! I should've known. Those people leaving want to know no one's going to stop them from getting personal with each other. Sigh. Such typical children."_ Ino thought to herself confidently.

"Are you bribing-"

"SHATUP!" Ino silenced Tenten before she could finish. She then turned around with a wide smile that made the students shiver,

"Now, since you all seem to agree with my terms, we'll start preparations for this thing tomorrow and continue every afternoon. After all, spring break starts this weekend so we only have four more days to make this work! Please bring the following things. Any amount of any is fine but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make an effort to carry stuff." Ino asked nicely.

The students murmured 'yeah rights' and 'I'm not doing that too much trouble' and when Ino heard them a vein popped on her forehead and she grabbed the mike,

"Listen here you ungrateful little brats I'm doing this for you so you BETTER help out because if you don't help then there will BE no spring formal okay?"

The room was silent with fear.

"IS THAT CLEAR!" Ino screamed into the mike.

"YES MA'AM!" the guys shouted out with wet pants while the girls huddled together and screamed. Sakura sweat dropped, _"Wow. So this is how she runs the student council so well. Well, I guess that's the only thing that'll work with these rich kids."_

"Oh and I'm throwing a cool spring formal so there'll be no freshman unless you choose to invite one as your date."

"Date!" the student body shouted back at her.

"Oh I didn't tell you? You can bring a date along with you. But you'll have to pay for their ticket even if you go free."

The students groaned.

"YOU ALREADY SUBMITTED YOURSELF THERE'S NO BACKING AWAY NOW!"

"Yes ma'am!" the students replied.

"Good. Now, the student council will be going around and passing out handouts with the things you need to bring. We'll do it in each of your homerooms and have you sign a paper so we'll know what kind of punishment to give you if you don't bring the items tomorrow."

The students quivered at the word punishment.

"Don't worry guys. It's a long list and each person is only required to carry at least one item on the list."

The students sighed.

"BUT IF I FIND OUT YOU COULD CARRY MORE AND YOU DIDN'T THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES AM I CLEAR?"

"YES MA'AM!"

"Very well. You are dismissed." Ino said and the students scattered out of the auditorium's three exits.

"Doesn't she remind you of the principal in some ways?" Tenten whispered.

"Hmm? Tsunande-sama? Well, they do have the same hair colour...but the principal is way nicer." Hinata replied with a shy smile.

The two shivered on feeling an evil aura behind them.

"AH! We have class!" Tenten said to Hinata who nodded and ran after the brunette without looking back at Ino.

Sakura allowed the sea to sweep her out of the building and safely transport her into in front of her classroom. After one year and a term she had learned how to 'ride the wave' and safely exit when she needed to.

Unfortunately, as soon as she entered the classroom she heard a very loud voice that she remembered she just heard.

"Ah, Sakura you're finally here."

"Wa...didn't we abandon you on the other side of the school awhile ago?" Sakura said, unaware of how Ino managed to teleport.

"Oh just sit down now's not the time to admire me you can do that in your own free time." Ino said as she waved a paper around and pointed to Sakura's seat with it.

"Sheesh. So bossy." Sakura muttered before taking her seat. She sighed and turned to look out the window but when she saw Sasuke's head blocking it she quickly turned back to Ino, _"Oh man I completely forgot about what happened yesterday! Well, at least what happened before Itachi basically rescued me...I can't believe this is happening! And I also can't believe I've gotten over Sasuke so fast..."_

"Sakura!"

"Yes!" Sakura replied and jumped up.

"What will you be carrying for the spring formal?" Ino asked, already irritated at Sakura spacing out while she was talking.

"Oh um, what are the items again?" Sakura asked sweetly with a smile.

Ino groaned, "I JUST repeated them. I'm not doing it again you know! Listen carefully. ALL OF YOU." The blonde said before repeating the long list.

"I'll take...balloons and streamers. I bought a lot of those one time for-"

"Okay that's nice but we don't care. Hinata write Sakura down for those items." Ino said sharply before calling out the next person on the list.

_"And come to think of it, even though she pays a lot more attention to me, hasn't Ino become...nicer? In a way? A really far-fetched over the hill way but still..."_ Sakura thought to herself with a smile.

As Hinata wrote down the last person the bell rang for the next class and everyone left the classroom.

"Ino!" Sakura called out as she ran towards the blonde who sighed on hearing the pink-haired girl's voice.

She turned around dramatically, "What do you want Sakura? I'm tired but I'm also pressed for time because I have to go to the other classes as well."

"Don't worry I won't take up much of your time. I was just wondering if you'd like to switch seats with me for all the classes I sit beside Sasuke in." Sakura replied chirpily.

Ino and Hinata stared at Sakura like statues.

"..Excuse me? I don't think I heard you properly awhile ago." Ino said while cleaning out an ear for a second.

"It's just that since that incident yesterday I just, you know, don't feel really comfortable beside the guy who dumped me in front of everyone." Sakura lied with a smile.

"Heh. That's true. Must suck to have to go through that. I usually wouldn't volunteer to do anything that makes your life easier..."

"Oh and this way you'll be on equal ground with Karin."

"Eh what the heck. It's a win-win situation." Ino said and held out her hand. Sakura gladly shook it and they went their separate ways.

"Hinata? Aren't you going to follow Ino?" Sakura asked the purple haired girl who was smiling very creepily.

"Well I just wanted to let you know that in all the classes you sat beside Sasuke-san I sat beside Ino-san so now we can sit together!"

"Oh that's awesome."

"Yup! See in you class Sakura-san!" Hinata called out as she ran after the blonde.

"Making friends. Yes, yes, very good." a voice said and Sakura turned around quickly with a smile.

"You're going to try and make me late for class again aren't you? Well it's not going to work I was already expecting you this time." Sakura said and walked past the boy with a confident smile.

"Oh I wasn't planning on any such thing. I just wanted to remind you that the spring formal is the last day of our little 'time period'." the Uchiha said with a smirk and Sakura froze mid step.

"I'm going to class!" Sakura called out and briskly walked down the corridor to her class. Itachi smirked before taking off in the other direction.

[FIRST DAY OF PREPARATION]

The evening was extremely busy. Students were running all over the place: back and forth under Ino's instruction. The blonde was standing on the stage at the podium once again,

"This is a very large auditorium and I want to see decorations everywhere so step it up people we have a lot to do if we want to finish by Friday!" Ino said into the mike.

"Yes ma'am!" the students responded like always.

Sakura and Hinata were putting up the balloons and streamers.

"This is hard without a third person to tell us if it's straight..." Sakura said to Hinata who responded with a tired nod. They'd been at the same spot for quite some time now and scolded for it by Ino at least twice now. But since there needed to be one person at each end to tape up the streamers, they had to tape and step back then go back to fix it.

"Sakura, raise your side a little bit more." a voice called out.

Sakura obeyed the instruction, "Like this?" _"Finally someone noticed us!"_

"Perfect." and the two girls taped the ends and let their arms fall with a sigh of relief.

"Finally!" Sakura said, wiping sweat from her forehead. Ino refused to turn on the fans until she saw progress from everyone.

"Thank you...! Itachi-san!" Hinata said in surprise.

Sakura jumped, "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to get a free ticket to the formal. What else? Ino allowed it for both years." Itachi replied grinning. "You guys look like you need some help."

"Well we've put up most of the streamers on this wall and now we're going to do the balloons so we don't need you at the moment why don't you go help your year?" Sakura replied stubbornly.

"Miss Haruno, are you trying to get rid of me?" Itachi asked as he walked slowly to the girl with a smirk. Sakura began to blush as she saw his smirk and looked away.

"N-No of course not! It's just that Hinata promised to help me out and right now she's all the help I-" Sakura continued to be stubborn as she tied a balloon but stopped when she felt Itachi's chest against her back as he held both her hands in his and rested his chin on her head.

"Wh-wh-what are y-"

"No don't mind me. Please continue. She's all the help you what?"

Itachi gave Hinata a look and a smile, and the girl instantly understood blushing, "Um, Sakura-san I think I see Naruto-kun over there and since you have Itachi-san...I don't want to intrude on anything!" Hinata shouted out and ran away with a face redder than Sakura's.

"Wait what? Hinata! Hinata no!" Sakura called out but the girl quickly ran across the highway of students to the orange spot on the other side of the large room.

Itachi let go of her and took a balloon out of the bag on the floor. "Where are you going to put up the balloons now?"

"I can't believe you did that!" Sakura exclaimed as she stomped over to him and grabbed the balloon out of his hand.

"Did what?" The Uchiha replied obliviously.

"You made Hinata leave us alone intentionally so you could-!" Sakura started but stopped herself.

"Could what?" Itachi smirked but Sakura was at a loss for words. Well she wasn't really, but the word that came up in her mind was something Itachi wouldn't probably think of doing for at least another 30 chapters.

Instead of getting all flustered Sakura took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, "I'm not letting you get to me." she said as she walked to the wall and started to blow up the balloon.

Itachi sighed with a smile, "Aw, no fun. You didn't pout this time."

"You know I can't believe you find it so fun to tease me." she said as she tied the balloon. "But you know what? I'm going to make sure I have fun at the spring formal no matter how much you tease me."

She went on her toes to tape the balloon on the wall in the middle of the streamer, "I'm, going to find a nice guy in my year and ask him to go with me and then-" but a hand slammed against the wall, startling her.

"You are NOT going to that formal with another guy." Itachi said seriously. Sakura tensed but tried to play it off by continuing to tape the balloon.

"And what gives you a right to say anything? You're not my boyfriend." she replied and smiled to herself, _"That's right Sakura. Stand your ground!"_

"But if you'd just stop being so stubborn and take the frickin' time period off I would be!" Itachi said back in an angry tone.

_"Why does he sound so angry?"_ Sakura thought to herself. "Well I'm not going to, and until it's done you're just my friend so get used to it. Pass the tape over there I took too small a piece."

There was a pause, then Sakura felt a draft as Itachi leant off the wall, "Why don't you ask your date to pass the tape instead?" Itachi snapped.

Sakura turned around, "What?" she questioned, concerned with his cold response but he had already started walking away. He didn't even walk to his group. Instead, he left the auditorium itself.

"Itachi!" Sakura called out but the guy slammed the door closed. The room was quiet for a minute. Everyone was looking at Sakura. Sakura looked around at them and, feeling insecure, turned around and started blowing a balloon. Murmurs were starting around the place, wondering what was going on between the two.

Eventually a female voice broke out above the rest, "Lost him already? That's two Uchihas in what, two days? I knew the Uchihas would never stoop so low as to date a commoner like you Sakura!" All the girls and some of the guys started to laugh at their comment.

"STOP WASTING TIME SLAVES!' Ino screamed into the mike and the laughter stopped instantly: people continuing their jobs while their ears throbbed.

Ino looked at Sakura, then took three steps towards the stage steps but stopped when she heard Hinata call out Sakura's name and run to her.

The blonde went back to her mike and commenced shouting our orders at lightning speed so no one would get the chance to see Sakura's expression and clarify if the rumour was true or not.

When Hinata reached the pink-haired girl she put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "What happened? Everything seemed to be going, um, fine when I left." the girl asked, her cheeks slightly pink from remembering the position the two were in.

"I...I don't know but...I feel like I just got dumped..." Sakura replied softly.

"Sakura...!" Hinata exclaimed in her soft voice when she stood in front of Sakura and saw tears streaming down her face. Hinata hugged her, "Shh. It's okay."

"I don't know why I'm crying!" Sakura said before sniffling. Naruto soon approached the two, "Sakura-chan what's wrong!"

"N-Naruto-kun! Wh-why don't y-you go get s-some hand towels for Sakura-s-san?" Hinata stuttered with pink cheeks. The blonde okay'd her and quickly sprinted off. He grinned as Ino scolded at him for stepping one of the banners being carried by a group of students.

"I'm sorry Hinata. You were with Naruto but here I am ruining your moments." Sakura apologized sorrowfully.

"Well, yeah you kind of ruined it but, you're my friend and I know you'll help me get him as a date for the formal right?"

Sakura looked up with a thankful face but felt so scared when she saw Hinata's evil smile, "D-definitely! That's what friends are for!" Sakura replied positively.

"Okay I'll help you blow up some balloons now. But you help too! If you sit there and sulk you'll get uglier." Hinata said as she put the bag in Sakura's lap. The girl smiled before blowing up a balloon of her own.

_"Hinata's odd knowledge can really cheer me up sometimes."_

**[UCHIHA RESIDENCE]**

As soon as the limo pulled up to the entrance of the mansion/palace/place/thing Itachi opened the door himself before the driver could reach it and stomped up the stairs. A lot of the staff apologized for their tardiness in making it to the stairs to greet him but he just ignored them and marched right inside before they could even join the line.

As he went through rooms he slammed all the doors and eventually crossed Sasuke's path in the dining room. Brooding made him hungry.

His mother arrived shortly after, and began to scold the worried maids who were standing with their backs to her as she walked upstairs.

Eventually she entered her own home and reached the kitchen door just in time to catch the conversation between her two sons.

Sasuke sighed, "What's wrong this time big brother? I finally gave Sakura to you what more do you want?" the boy asked with a face that showed he was tired of Itachi looking like that when it wasn't his fault.

Itachi glared at him but before he could reply the mother did, "Come again?" she said as her heels clacked on the floor. Her plastic smile was 'extra genuine' this time, showing she was not very pleased with what as said.

Itachi tensed. Sasuke was a bit thrown off at his mother's ninja entry but quickly composed himself.

"Am I hearing right? You GAVE Sakura to Itachi?"

"Thant's right mum." Sasuke said with a smug smile as Itachi glared at him. They both knew how this would end already.

"What did you do to my son Itachi? Did you threaten him? I'll bet you did! I can't believe you! The one time and by one time I really do mean THE ONE TIME that boy ACTUALLY finds a girl you go and take her away from him! How can you be so cruel?" the mother shouted out.

She then turned around and went to go hug her son, "Don't worry my son everything will work out I'm sure Itachi will give her back to you. RIGHT SON?" the mother said and glared at Itachi.

"N...No!"

"What was that?" the mother said in a very serious tone.

"I refuse to give him to her! He had her and he made her cry!"

"Well every relationship has it's ups and downs Itachi you can't expect a happy ending all the time."

"Yes I can! She'll get a happy ending because of me! The reason she cried is because HE, that boy over there, YOUR SON, told her off and DUMPED HER in the harshest way possible in front of everyone at school in the middle of the hallway. I was the one who rescued her and we now have a mutual love for each other! He never even loved her!" Itachi shouted back at her.

"Geez you don't have to shout. Is this true son?" the mother asked Sasuke sweetly.

"Yes mum. She just wasn't the one." Sasuke said with the same plastic smile and sincerity he inherited from her.

"Aww. Poor thing. Well, there's always more fish in the sea. I'll try and set you up with someone better in the future don't worry. I have work to do now so I'll see you boys when I see you!" the mother sang as she kissed Sasuke on the forehead and glided out of the room.

Itachi was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe what just happened. Sasuke smirked at him, "What's wrong big brother?" he asked innocently.

Itachi turned to the door his mother was leaving through, "Did you not just hear me say that he dumped her in the WORST WAY BY PUBLICLY HUMILIATING HER!"

The mother stopped for a moment then turned around, "Well I'm sure he had to do it. Sakura does look like one of those clingy fangirl types. But I guess since Sasuke's not unhappy with you two together then I'm not!" the woman beamed, "So, what kind of family is she from? Medicine? Business?" the mother asked.

"Uh, about that..." Itachi started.

"She's a poor commoner with no wealth to her name." Sasuke stated bluntly.

"Ahaha, you're joking right? Boy you guys sure can tell a joke. Well if you'll excuse me...!" the mother said and laughed all the way to her room on the umpteenth floor. Her laughter echoed throughout the house until she closed her room door.

There was a silence in the kitchen.

_"How am I going to tell that woman the truth later on?...! That's if there even IS a later on...sigh..."_ Itachi thought.

"You're screwed." Sasuke snickered.

"Shut up. The point is, you're 'happy'. Now stay happy and stay away from Sakura's life." Itachi commanded before leaving the room.

"My pleasure." Sasuke said as he downed the last of the water in his glass.

**[THE NEXT DAY OF PREPARATION]**

Due to Sakura and Itachi's little quarrel, the work done on the first day was half of what was expected. So Ino pleaded with the teachers and principal and managed to have them agree to having a half day of school instead of the normal six and a half hours.

Itachi spent the day helping out the guys in his year move around the heavy columns. He ignored Sakura completely, even though he glanced at her almost every second and looked away when he saw her look his direction. This of course bothered Sakura to another level.

"Why doesn't he look at me at all? He doesn't even look in this direction!" Sakura complained as she and Hinata grouped together little clusters of balloons and connected them with colourful ribbon to the walls with tape.

"Sakura. If you're this bummed about it why don't you go talk to him about it?" Hinata asked, slightly irritated at Sakura complaining the entire day and not doing a thing about it.

"Then why don't you talk to Naruto?" Sakura retaliated, although Hinata was right and she was really hating her attitude at the moment.

"W-what? B-but I'm not in any fight with N-Naruto-kun! Besides, someone needs to stay here and watch the things while you talk to Itachi-san!" Hinata said in excuse.

"But don't you want to go with him to the party thing? There's only two more days you know. I'll go if you go." Sakura bargained.

"...Fine!"

"Huh?"

"I will!" Hinata said and stood up, filled with confidence, "I'll go talk to Naruto-kun if you talk to Itachi-san!"

"Are you really going to go!" Sakura asked. She never believed Hinata would do it without her beside her.

"Of course I am! I'm sick of hearing you whine about something you don't even know is true when you could easily find out the truth for yourself right now!" Hinata reprimanded and Sakura hung her head in shame, "You're right I'm sorry." she apologized.

"Good. Now go!" Hinata said and pointed out into the distance.

"You're right! I will!" Sakura said as she jumped up, ready to go. The two girls shook hands before walking separate ways.

Hidan looked up and saw Sakura walking over towards them, "Yo Itachi! Your girl's coming!" He called out, then looked at Kakuzu, and back to his work before the latter could catch his gaze.

"Guys! Plan E!" Itachi called out and the boys ran around getting into positions. Two guys ran forward to stall Sakura with random questions while five guys formed a straight line with their backs towards Sakura. They held Itachi horizontally and stepped sideways behind them as they made their way towards the exit.

Sakura looked around for Itachi while the two boys talked to her.

"Hey, where's Itachi?" she asked while looking amongst the boys running from place to place and randomly jumping in the air for high fives which Sakura sweat dropped on seeing.

"Itachi? Oh maybe he's in the bathroom? I dunno. Diarrhea can be a ninja sometimes. You know just the other day-"

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOKAY THEN!" Sakura interrupted and walked past him quickly.

_"Why did that boy think I was interested in hearing about his bowel movements! Weirdos!"_

**[OUTSIDE AUDITORIUM]**

"Okay Itachi you're safe now!" a boy with an orange mask said chirpily.

"Now tell us what's up with you and Sakura." Kisame said seriously.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Nothing's wrong we're practically Cinderella and Prince Charming." Itachi said fanning off Kisame with a bluff.

"We haven't done a plan E in forever man what's up." the blue man asked again.

Itachi sighed, "I got pissed because she wants to take someone else to prom and I'm still a little pissed at the idea so I don't think I should talk to her right now, even if I'm in the wrong."

"Ouch." Kisame and the other guys replied.

"But, why don't you just invite another girl to go with you to prom too then Itachi?" Tobi asked naively.

There was a silence in the group. "You're a genius Tobi!" Kisame shouted out and the guys lifted him up and started spinning him around and cheering. Itachi put a hand to his chin and pondered on the idea while Tobi was praised.

"But I can't do that to her I mean, that'd feel like cheating. And I don't know her real motive for telling me something like that in the first place..." he muttered aloud.

The guys stopped and dropped Tobi instantly, "Yeah you're right Itachi Tobi how can you be so stupid?" the schitzo's said as they walked back over to Itachi.

"What if she's just teasing me? As pay back or something?"

"Well you have two options: one, you can get a date. Two, go solo. We have to go back inside before lion lady Ino catches us outside. Come on Uchiha, think about it inside." Kisame said.

As the group re-entered the building Ino screamed into the mike, "WHERE HAVE YOU RUFFIANS BEEN! BACK TO WORK THIS INSTANT! ITACHI REPORT TO MY PODIUM! I WANT A WORD WITH YOU!"

the guys cringed at the outburst and groaned as they went back to their stations. Itachi walked to the stage, hoping Sakura wasn't around to see him. But unfortunately, she was sitting on the edge of the stage beside Ino and her podium.

"You two. Talk. I'm heading into the field." Ino said and saluted before jumping off the stage with a white fan like the one from SSBB to whack delinquents who were trying to hide from her in groups.

Sakura and Itachi looked away from each other and there was silence except for the sound of Ino's fan above the hum of students murmuring.

"Um,-" Sakura was going to ask why Itachi got angry but he cut her off.

"I'm sorry!" Itachi said with a deep breath out.

The sudden apology however, threw her off completely, "You're sorry?"

"Yeah I am. It's true that the time period isn't over yet and you want to have some fun before you settle down, like a bachelorette party before your wedding right?"

Sakura was dumbfounded. That was definitely one of the reasons she came up with the time period, not rushing into things. But not the main reason of course. Itachi continued,

"It's perfectly understandable, in fact, I'm going to have my own date for prom too! I'll carry one of the girls in my year who's been dying to go out with me somewhere for awhile now. Ha, funny thing is I was always blowing her off telling her I was basically taken. But I didn't know you were thinking like this. So I guess if you're okay with having another guy as your date then I can do the same with her right?" Itachi bluffed perfectly.

He had practiced his lines before he reached the stage and everything was going perfectly. Sakura, on the other hand, didn't plan for the conversation to go this way and literally speechless.

_"How...how can he say this...!"_ She thought and felt a pain in her chest. Her eyes widened in realization. She now understood why Itachi was angry yesterday.

The boy nodded, "I'll take your silence as consent then-" Itachi said more to himself that to her as he started back towards his group but Sakura instinctively pulled his sleeve so hard he fell back.

He turned as he was being pulled and stopped himself from falling onto Sakura by putting his hands on the stage on either side of her. The two looked into each others eyes. Sakura's were half-lidded and her expression was sad.

"Sakura...what's wrong?" Itachi asked softly, concerned.

She blinked three times and sat up straight, "Huh? What? Oh I'm sorry! I made you somehow fall didn't I? Sorry I wasn't thinking awhile ago. I do that sometimes hahaha" Sakura ranted and ranted but stopped when she felt a hand brushing back the hair on the side of her face.

Itachi cupped her now bare cheek and with eyes also half-close whispered, "Can I kiss you just this once?"

Sakura took in air sharply. She really wanted to kiss him too and the way he was looking at her wasn't helping her keep her time period. Her bottom lip quivered and Itachi leaned in slowly, noticing her lips open slightly.

Just a few centimetres away from contact, a whack was made on the back of Itachi's head and the Uchiha jumped away, holding it.

"What the hell!" he shouted out in pain. Sakura opened her eyes on hearing the whack and saw Ino standing with her fan closed in hand.

"I said talk not make-out. So I guess it looks like the chit chats over and everything's back to normal? Good now back to your posts slaves!" Ino commanded before either of the two could answer her question.

They looked at each other, and reluctantly parted from the stage. Sakura walked back to Hinata who was extremely cheerful. She spun on her heels and ran to Sakura.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Guess what? He said yes! He said yes!" the purple-haired diva jumped up and down while holding onto Sakura's hands.

"What? Who did?" Sakura asked hollowly. She was currently feeling a 'draft' on her lips.

"Naruto-kun Sakura! Duh." Hinata answered back, not liking the mood Sakura had, "So what about you? From my perspective it looked like you guys were making out~" Hinata teased.

"But we weren't..." Sakura mumbled as she looked at the balloon bags on the floor. She sighed and walked over to them, taking one out to blow.

"What? I'm not following. What exactly happened over there now?" Hinata asked as she watched the pink-haired girl sulk over the balloons and try in vain to blow one up.

Sakura sighed again as she jumped up and turned around to face Hinata, "Basically Itachi's perfectly okay with not going to the formal together!" Sakura said with a smile before turning back to the wall and blowing as hard as possible.

"Really? Wow, you really suck at explaining yourself don't you Sakura." Hinata concluded.

"What? No I can explain myself fine! It's just that he started speaking first and then I couldn't respond and things escalated and he ended our one-sided convo himself and I REEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAALLY feel like I got dumped as he was walking away form me." Sakura ended softly.

Hinata sighed, "Okay you know what? Itachi said he was okay with you going to prom with another guy right? So let's make him regret it." Hinata said and smiled devilishly at Sakura, who tried to smile back, "What do you mean?"

"We're gonna find you a really hot guy for your date and make Itachi regret agreeing to giving you up for that day." Hinata explained.

"But he didn't want to originally..."

"But he changed his mind. He was indecisive and so he will be punished."

"You sound like Ino now." Sakura said wryly as she added tape to one of the balloons.

"I AM Ino." the voice said and Sakura looked up to see the blonde standing there with an unamused face.

"Wh-why are you here instead of your pedestal-I mean podium?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"I overheard your conversation as I walked around. I can't after all the effort I put into it: calling you to the podium, and scanning the crowds for Itachi while making sure the slaves were doing their jobs, even though the punk was outside! Then catching him as soon as he entered and giving you people time to work things out, and the problem gets worse instead of better? We're are SO going to make him eat those words." Ino ranted.

"...you care so much about my problems I'd say you were a friend Ino." Sakura said with a smile, bringing up the irony of Ino's intervention. The blonde began to stutter "Wa-! Well that's because- and the reason's simple really, I just- you know, and so, yeah. All I know is we can definitely make this work. We meet tomorrow to discuss." Ino said and flashed her hair as she walked away from the two, reprimanding slackers as she saw them.

Sakura and Hinata exchanged glances, before going back to balloons and streamers.

"Itachi's back!" one of the guys called out and the entire class of Math II ran to him.

"So how'd it go?" Kisame asked. The boys huddled around eagerly.

Itachi took a deep breath, "So I need a girl for the spring formal coming up." he said really quickly. Some of the guys shouted out 'yes!' and others groaned. They groups then exchanged money from one party to the other while saying thing like, 'told you I'd win' and 'I can't believe it I was sure they'd go together'.

Kisame patted Itachi's shoulder and the two exchanged glances and in that instant Kisame completely understood and saw everything that happened between his friend and Sakura, even the almost kiss part [they're on the same wavelength yo XD].

"Any suggestions guys?" Itachi asked. "Why don't you just go to the mike and make the announcement?" Hidan said out loud crankily. "Cuz I'm not you Hidan." Itachi said but just as he finished his sentence a voice much lower than Ino's was heard on the mike.

"Hey ladies! Itachi's free for spring formal so if any of you beauties want a chance at him before he gets whipped for good this is your final chance!"

Itachi spun around to see Deidara giving him a thumbs up. Kisame patted his shoulder, "Brace yourself for the response."

The girls all screamed and shrieked and shrilled for about an hour. During this time they ran around searching for Itachi then started chasing him when they found him.

"PLAN E! PLAN E!" Itachi shouted out.

"We can't! We don't have enough manpower for this many women!" Kisame shotued back.

"Use Tobi then!" Itachi shouted out. Kisame apologized as he grabbed Tobi and faced the girls. He pulled off Tobi's mask with another dramatic apology.

Suddenly a bright light shone from Tobi's face and all the girls stopped dead in their tracks. With pink cheeks they stared in awe.

"He's so...so...HOT OMG I WANT HIM!" one of the girls shouted and they all began to chase Tobi instead. Tobi flailed as he ran away in panic, screaming for his life.

The rest of Math II cried manly tears as they retreated in the opposite direction.

"Such a brave man!"

"He took one for the team!"

"Tobi we'll always remember you!" were the shouts made as the class ran away.

**[THE NEXT DAY]**

Tobi absent from school that day. In fact, no one heard from him since yesterday. The guys were worried but also relieved. By missing school Tobi also allowed the girls time to forget about him and remember that it's Itachi who wants a date not Tobi.

Between every single session of the day, Itachi could be seen talking to a girl. It was like every single female student was trying to be his date. Well, except for Sakura, Hinata and Ino.

Sakura was completely ticked off at all the attention Itachi was getting from the female student body that she called the meeting of discussion herself.

"Okay what are we doing to retaliate this? If we make an announcement I'll sound desperate because I'm a girl, which is really sexist but also true so we can't do it." Sakura explained.

"I have in my hand a list of all the guys in our year, " Ino said, "We can go through the list and rule out people with not chance, then those with a little chance, and those you would definitely want to go to the formal with." Ino said.

"Awesome let's get started then!" Sakura fist pumped the air.

"I'll go get us all lunch while you guys work that out then." Hinata stated and the two girls nodded in agreement.

****

"Rock Lee?"

"Too eccentric. I'd probably spend the entire night dancing with him and not get one bite of the refreshments."

"Chouji?"

"Complete opposite. He'd pay more attention to the food than to me."

"Neji?"

"Isn't he going with Tenten?"

"Things can happen Sakura just say the word."

"Well I don't know him that well but he looks like a really strict guy. I also heard he talks about fate and destiny a lot so no."

"How about Gaara?"

"That foreign exchange kid who wears emo clothes and glares at everybody? No thank you. I don't think he could talk about anything other than who he wants to kill at the formal." *shivers*

"Kankuro? His brother?"

"Kankuro's more social, but still a bit weird with his puppets. I think he might dress one up as his date."

"And Naruto's out cuz Hinata's a 'friend' right?"

"YES INO. Naruto's off limits."

"I'm glad Sakura explained it to you Ino. Now I don't have to worry about any competition right girls?" Hinata said and smiled creepily as she held their lunches on a tray with hers. They gulped and nodded humbly in agreement, afraid she might've poisoned their meals.

"We've gone through practically the entire list you sure are picky Sakura." Ino commented.

"No she just knows what she wants~ Even if she won't admit it." Hinata said as she nudged Sakura.

"Hinata!" Sakura shouted out and blushed. A girl laughed loudly and the group turned around to see her cling onto Itachi's arm. He smiled with her, although one could see he was a bit uncomfortable. His eyes met Sakura's and she turned around to face Ino and Hinata and sighed.

Hinata spoke up, "Hey what about Shino or Kiba? I've known those two since elementary school! They're both really nice people!"

"Shino? Bug boy? Eww no Sakura don't do it." Ino spoke up.

"Hey that's mean" Hinata pouted.

"But Kiba..." Ino thought aloud. "He's cute. Has a nice hairstyle. He's ripped: I saw him in swimming class one day. Nice personality. Really sporty. Typical guy. Single. Eats a lot but because of his puppy personality, I think it can really work if you can make it to his heart!" Ino summarized.

Sakura stared blankly at Ino. The blonde really did know about everybody in her year.

"Ino's right Sakura. Kiba is a very loyal person. And he's gentle, and sweet. He'll even bring flowers for you at the spring formal if you tell him you like them!" Hinata added.

"Okay then it's settled! I'll ask Kiba to the spring formal!" Sakura decided and the two girls nodded in agreement.

**[LAST DAY BEFORE THE SPRING FORMAL]**

Sakura arrived at school early for a first. By early I mean one hour before school starts early. She yawned as she walked down the everlasting pathway to the main building.

The reason Sakura was at school so early was because Hinata told her that Kiba was in many sports and most of his teams had training early in the morning.

"Okay so according to my schedule, Kiba should be having...swimming right now! To the pool it is!" Sakura said to herself and headed over to the pool room.

On entering the building, a surge of emotions ran through her as she remembered all the things that happened with Itachi at this pool. The sound of a cannonball snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked around for brown spiky hair.

"WOO! GO KIBA!" one of the guy shouted out and Sakura looked in his direction to see the water being split in two by some amazing force coming for her. She flinched when the force reached her. Kiba's sudden stop caused a LOT OF WATER to leave the pool, unfortunately in her direction.

"YES! NEW RECORD!" the boy shouted out and his friends cheered with him but most of them were snickering at the wet girl behind him. Kiba turned around and gasped.

"Oh snap! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to splash you!" he said as he leaped out of the water gracefully. "Let me get you a towel." he said as he ran to one of the nearby walls of the room where towels were kept.

Of course, running by the pool side was prohibited and Sakura watched him hard, praying he would slip. And he did. But as he fell forward he tucked and rolled back to a standing position and continued running towards the towel. Sakura gaped.

_"Are you serious! What is he, some kind of ninja or something?" _she thought as he came jogged back to her with a smile.

"That's Kiba-kun for you," one of the freshmen said, "Perfect at anything physical."

"Does that include sex?" one of the guys said and the group laughed. Sakura felt awkward around them and decided to meet Kiba halfway.

"Sorry about that!"

"It-" Sakura started but a towel began to suffocate her.

Kiba was drying her hair extremely fast like you would a dog, literally. She was feeling dizzy and just as abrupt as he started he finished, parting the towel to see her face.

"Better?" he asked with a grin.

Sakura blushed slightly. First it was darkness and dizziness, then after the storm was the bright cheerful smile of a charming young man.

_"This could work."_ she thought to herself.

"Hey wait a minute. You're in my year, Haruno...?"

"Sakura." she finished with a smile that he at least knew of her.

"Right. Pretty name." he said and grinned again.

"I have an extra shirt if you want to borrow it. I wear a bigger size than yours so it'll be really warm and soft. How bout it?" he asked with another grin.

"That sounds really good right now." Sakura agreed and Kiba gave her a thumbs up before running and gliding a good distance before he landed in the pool and free styled to the other end.

He emerged about 2 seconds later at the other end and turned to her with another grin, "It's faster. Heheh." before jumping out and heading into the changing room.

_"...I feel like I'm in a shoujo manga right now he is like, the perfect male main character omg. Itachi will definitely be jealous!"_ Sakura thought with an evil smile to herself.

"Sooooooo, what brings a girl like _you_ here this early to school?" one of the boy asked smoothly.

"I'm here to talk to Kiba." Sakura replied honestly with a smile.

"You were really here for him? Aww man. SHE'S TAKEN GUYS!" the boy shouted across the pool. The boys groaned in disappointment and went back to their aquatic activities.

Sakura sweat dropped, _"Wow those are some pretty desperate guys. But then again, who am I to talk?"_

Kiba emerged from the changing room and called out to Sakura, "Hey what are you waiting for? You plan on changing out there or something?"

All the boys looked at her with pink cheeks and wishful expression that she tried her best to ignore as she walked briskly towards the boy that called out to her feeling embarrassed.

She grabbed the shirt from him with said thank you curtly. A few moments later she emerged in a men's large "NUMBA 1" shirt that was blue with the words in white.

'How do I look?" Sakura asked shyly.

"Like my girlfriend." Kiba joked with a grin and everyone laughed.

"Wh-You have a girlfriend already? Oh my god I'm so sorry-" Sakura said as she started taking off his shirt instinctively, forgetting where she was.

"Woah! Hey! Hey!" Kiba called out and pulled the shirt back down. Their faces were so close Sakura blushed again.

"No worries. It was just a joke. I said that because girls usually wear their boyfriends' clothes sometimes right?" he explained with an grin.

"Oh...right. Haha, good one." Sakura said and cleared her throat out of embarrassment again as she fixed the shirt properly.

The guys in the pool room groaned again, "The show ended before it could even start aw man." one of the guys groaned. He dived into the pool when he felt Sakura's glare on him.

"So what brings you to the school pool this early Sakura-chan?" Kiba asked, unaware of the same conversation she just had with everyone else in the room.

"Oh well, um, "Sakura started, feeling shy all of a sudden, "I actually came here to ask you to be my date to the spring formal this year..." Sakura said while pulling the bottom of the shirt down to try and cover her legs. She looked up at him after her sentence.

Kiba's eyes widened for a seconds. "Wow!" he said after awhile and turned to look at the pool. The guys in it were grinning at him and showing thumbs ups.

"Well, I don't really know you that well..." he said awkwardly.

_"No he's turning me down I can't let this happen!"_

"Oh I know that! We can just go as friends! You know? It's not like I'm asking you to be my boyfriend or anything." she said looking away and pretending to not be desperate.

"Oh well if it's just as friends then sure! We can get to know each other better at the prom too and who knows! Right? Hahaha" He said and laughed awkwardly and loudly. Sakura joined in with her own version of awkward laughter.

"Well uh, it's settled then! I'll wash your shirt and return it tomorrow okay?" Sakura said as she walked slowly to the exit.

"Oh wait! Uh, we should exchange numbers so we can uh, get clothes that match right? Your dress is supposed to match my tie or something right?" the boy asked and Sakura turned around in slow motion shoujo style.

_"Oh he is just SO perfect!"_

"Sure!" she said with a beaming smile that made everyone in the room get a nosebleed. Kiba scratched the back of his head and laughed again. After exchanging numbers Sakura left the pool room in her comfortable shirt with a smile on her face.

_"Mission Accomplished! Chya!"_

**[SCHOOL FINALLY STARTS]**

"Sakura come on, what happened to your fashion sense?" Ino said in disgust as she looked at the large shirt on Sakura's person.

"Oh but it's not mine. It's my date's~" Sakura sang with a playful smile and Hinata and Ino gasped before squealing.

"Oh my god he said yes!" Ino screamed out while jumping up and down.

"Yup!" Sakura replied cheerfully.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Hinata and Ino screamed and Sakura covered her ears, as did everyone else in the corridor.

"You guys squealing because you saw my hot face as I strolled down the corridor?" Itachi said as he ran a hand through his hair and smirked.

"Yeah it was so ugly." Ino muttered under her breath and stuck her tongue out at him when he glared at her. Sakura giggled.

"No Itachi-san. Sakura has also gotten a date for the prom!" Hinata said happily and Sakura and Ino glared at her.

"What? I wasn't supposed to say it? How was I supposed to know it was a secret?" Hinata defended.

Itachi's expression quickly became more serious. After a pause he spoke up, "Really?" he said more than asked.

"You heard right. I'm going to the formal with someone and it's not you." Sakura siad and smiled bitterly at him.

He nodded his head slowly, "That's great! Cuz I mean, the thing's tomorrow and I was going to tell you that if you that time was running out but you seem to be able to handle yourself fine without me." he said, giving her back a bitter smile of his own.

"That's right. I'm wearing his shirt right now in fact. Doesn't it fit me?" Sakura continued to show off. She was determined to win.

Itachi moved his hand to her and she caught her breath silently. He felt rubbed the sleeve material between the fingers of his right hand with a serious expression for a second, before smirking.

_"Why is he smirking I'm winning stop smirking now!"_ Sakura thought in her head.

In a swift motion he grabbed the arm hidden by the sleeve and pulled her towards him, his other hand holding her chin, "I think you look better naked." he said with a bigger smirk as her face turned completely red, remembering all the way back to chapter 8 [in case you want to go back and lol]. She pushed him away, flustered at how he won the argument with charm.

"I can't believe you said that!" she shouted out embarrassed. Hinata's cheeks were also pink from dirty thoughts appearing in her head. Ino had an amused expression on her face.

"Not one word from you about what he just said." Sakura said seriously as she pointed a finger at the blonde who was giving her a look.

"My lips are sealed~" Ino teased and just as she finished her sentence the bell rang for classes to start.

"One more day and you won't have anymore excuses, so you better enjoy tomorrow night Sakura-_chan"_ Itachi said as he looked at her like she was prey.

"Oh you bet I will." Sakura replied defiantly as she stared back hard at her predator, her heart racing. He smirked as he walked past her, _"Sigh, so stubborn."_ he thought to himself with a smile.

**ABLAH! I'm writing part 2 right now guys don't worry calm down it's not like I'd avoid doing this till summer...cuz I'm gonna do that with another sotry in the future so no worries right XD? lol Iknow all you people who put this story on alert were waiting for this so I hope you've enjoyed the lover's quarrel so far! Here comes the happy ending! And fluff! And slight shounen ai ness? Idk if you're oblivious/naive enough you JUST might miss it ;D**


	27. Chapter 27 omake! part 2 xp

**Okay so here's part two of the extra and then I can finally say this story is complete yay! :D Hope you guys liked it. My first ever high school fic :p**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto related in this story**_

+ The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom +

Chapter 27 - Omake - PART 2

_Narrator__: "Vacation time!" heads off to Jamaica woot! XD _

And so the grand day arrived. Saturday was here and the Spring Formal was starting in a few minutes. Early birds were already strolling into the area and the student council committee was busily finishing up preparations and fixing up the entrance to the party inside.

Sakura, Hinata and Ino had spent the entire Friday afternoon shopping for the 'perfect' outfits for the night. Sakura, being the least girly of the three, found her dress first but was forced to find another one because her friends absolutely refused to talk to her if she wore it.

In the end Sakura's dress was a v-necked, red, sleeveless dress with a slit that stopped mid thigh. Black laced high heels had been bought to accompany the black, silver studded handbag she would wear on her shoulder. Mini silver rainmakers hung from her ears and matched the silver bangles and necklace.

She added a little blush to her face and with a little lip gloss, smiled at herself in the mirror before leaving her room.

"There's my princess! Oh don't you look beautiful! Let me take a picture!" her mother said, saying the last part after she flashed her daughter.

Sakura squinted her eyes, "OWWW~" she groaned as she reached for the stair railing and walked slowly down the stairs to strangle her mother.

Just as she was within arms reach of her daughters hands, the woman opened her mouth again, "So when's Itachi coming to pick you up? Time running out!"

Sakura stiffened, _"Mom doesn't know anything about it what do I tell her?"_

"Oh uh, I'm going to meet him there mom." Sakura lied with a smile.

"Really? That's a shame. I wanted to take a million pictures of you two cutie pies together!" she said while wiggling like a snake with hearts around her.

The freaked out child walked past her mother with an 'okay then see you later mom!' and quickly left the house.

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata called out and said girl waved before walking cautiously down the stairs and into Ino's limo.

"Nice limo. It's peach." Sakura commented as she got in the back seat.

"Of course my limo is nice. I'm a Yamanaka after all." Ino said narcissistically before driving off with a conceited laugh. Sakura and Hinata sweat dropped. One of the bumper stickers on the car read 'Better than a Haruno any day' but Sakura didn't see it that night.

"What I still don't get is that Kiba didn't hesitate to be my date for the formal. Doesn't he know about all the stuff that happened with me and Sasuke? Or the time period thing going on with Itachi?" Sakura thought aloud in the vehicle.

"Oh about that, " Hinata explained, "Kiba spends practically all his time doing sports and entering competitions so he doesn't really pay much attention to school gossip or who's the current hottest or most popular. That's why he's a really nice guy who doesn't make any assumptions and isn't biased during first time encounters!" Hinata ended chirpily.

Ino raised her eyebrows, "Wow Sakura he really IS perfect. I didn't know men like that existed. You could be the biggest slut ever and he'd still be glad to give you a chance. Aren't you lucky?"

"Hey! I'm not a slut!" Sakura defended herself.

"Yeah Ino. To be a slut you need to be with more than just two guys. Even if it's at the same time." Hinata added.

There was an awkward silence in the vehicle. Hinata's knowledge was scary sometimes.

**[AT SCHOOL]**

On arriving at the school, Kiba greeted the trio at the entrance.

"Yo! Sakura!" he called out as the three girls walked over to him.

"Wow! You look great!" he said, a bit taken back at her appearance.

"Thanks! You too. Oh you found a matching tie that's great!" She replied and Kiba nodded with a grin.

"Oh! Th-there he is...!" Hinata said and everyone looked to see Naruto running towards the group in a bright orange tuxedo.

Sakura and Ino sweat dropped, "Leave it to Naruto to find a tuxedo in a colour you'd think was taboo." Ino commented on the boy's fashion sense and Sakura sighed.

She then realized something and turned to the blonde, "So where's your date Ino? You haven't said one word about who he is for the entire week."

Ino began to blush and quickly brushed her off, "Oh come on Sakura. I'm student council president I don't have time for things like 'dates'. I have to make sure that everything goes according to plan so that we can do this again next year or something even bigger! Besides, there's no way I'd settle for just any guy in my year-"

"It's Sasuke isn't it." Sakura, Hinata, and just joining the group Naruto all said in monotone.

"Aw, how'd you know~?" Ino sang sweetly while turning from side to side like a lovesick child. The group sweat dropped at her sudden mood swing.

"How'd you get him to agree to come to a social event?" Sakura joked and smiled at her comment.

"Oh it was easy. He secretly loves me you know."

"There's a catch isn't there?" Sakura said skeptically.

"Hey Ino if you don't hurry up MY Sasuke-kun will only escort ME into the party! Even though that's the way it should be!" Karin shouted out obnoxiously and the group cringed at her voice.

"Uh, kinda?" Ino said with a shrug.

Sakura laughed. "Hey it's not funny!"

"Oh yes it is!" Sakura replied.

"Well the good part about this is that Karin originally asked first but Sasuke said that he wouldn't go with her unless I was ALSO going with him! So that means I'm favoured more~" Ino sang again before waving bye to the group and claiming Sasuke's other arm.

"Well we better get going too then!" Sakura said and the rest of the group walked down the pathway talking casually until they entered the building.

**[IN THA PAR-TAY]**

The loud music filled your ears as soon as you entered. Sakura and Hinata smiled at each other when they looked around and saw all the balloons and streamers they did.

Naruto himself was proud of the small food dishes he had made, although they were being avoided like the plague.

"Come on Hinata! Try those dishes over there with me! I made them myself!" he said as he dragged her across the dance floor.

"O-okay!" Hinata replied, her heart beating like crazy from running hand in hand with the blonde.

"So this is your date huh?" a voice said from behind Sakura and the pink-haired girl jumped and turned around quickly.

"Itachi...! Y-yes he is! This is Kiba and he's really cool! Extremely good a sports and really fun to talk to!" Sakura said, starting off with the intentions to show off but finishing honestly with a smile at the subject of her introduction.

Itachi rolled his eyes but held out his hand, "I'm Itachi. Uchiha Itachi." Kiba took his hand happily, "Nice to meet you!" he said with a cool grin.

Itachi kept a cool expression but squeezed Kiba's hand hard during their 'manly' shake. Kiba quickly pulled his back with a forced smile, "Nice grip you got there. Your appearance fooled me for a minute. I'll make sure I'm prepared next time." Kiba said with a slightly pissed off smile.

The Uchiha smirked, "Looks can be deceiving."

He then turned to a glaring second year and was about to make a comment that would make her angrier, when a whining sound was made from his arm.

"Itachi~ I'm bored~ Let's go dance or something~" a girl said as she clung to Itachi's arm and rubbed her cheek against it. Sakura took a deep breath and let it out through her nose.

"Oh where are my manners. Sakura this is...well her name's not really important right now but she's my date for the formal." Itachi said with a smile.

Sakura smiled too. She was trying really hard not to laugh out loud. The fact that Itachi didn't know her name or couldn't remember it obviously meant that even though a million girls were trying to go the formal with him, he didn't really care about any of them. And so he didn't put any effort into remembering the names of any of the girls and probably just picked a random one for the heck of it, just to try and make her regret going with Kiba.

She felt like she won already.

"Ma name is Britanaynay how could you fogitiiiit~!" the girl said in a whiny voice as she stomped on the floor. As she said her name Itachi, Sakura AND Kiba all had to take a deep breath and try their bestest not to roll on the floor laughing. ESPECIALLY Sakura.

"Well Itachi. Kiba and I are going to go dance now so you and um, your date, pfft, have a nice night okay?" Sakura said with a smile all too wide. Itachi could feel he was losing. In his mind he was cursing himself for choosing the owner of an anonymously written love letter as his date.

On the dance floor Kiba and Sakura were laughing while dancing like idiots and singing along with the surprise guest artist, "Typhlosion".

"Hey I'm gonna go get some punch you want some?" Kiba shouted over music.

"Sure!" Sakura shouted back and Kiba gave a thumbs up before wading through the crowd. Sakura felt a bit awkward dancing by herself until she saw Ino and Karin bickering over Sasuke.

She smiled at how hard Ino was fighting for him but then she looked at Sasuke who was looking over at Hinata and Naruto with a bored face. Naruto was dancing like a chicken and Hinata was trying her best to copy him. Sakura couldn't help but laugh at how adorable the couple was.

When the song ended the students cheered the band as they left the stage and a slow song started playing from the dj. Sakura felt a bit awkward since everybody was slow dancing.

Someone bumped her shoulder and she turned slightly to apologize but saw Itachi and Britanaynay~ [you have to say it like that]. He raised an eyebrow at her, "Hey Sakura, where's your date?" Itachi asked while pretending he didn't care.

"He's getting me some punch." Sakura said and crossed her hands over her chest.

"Oh so he is." Itachi said as he looked over the crowd at the brown spiky bush by the punch bowl. Kiba turned around and waved Sakura over. The girl smiled at the gesture.

"If you'll excuse me." Sakura said and strutted towards the punch bowl. Itachi felt a bit angry at Kiba but he smiled to himself when he thought about how hard Sakura was trying to be stubborn.

When Sakura reached the punch bowl and stood beside Kiba he handed her a cup, "It's really good!" he said with a grin.

Sakura took a sip of her drink and nodded in agreement. She was actually parched from all that dancing. A group of guys walked past the two and one of them tapped Kiba on the shoulder and the latter nodded and said he was coming.

"What was that about?" Sakura asked.

"Oh. Right. Uh, I was uh, wondering if you were done using me yet." he said with a grin and a nervous laugh.

"Wh-what? What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, completely taken off guard at the boy's question.

"It's kinda obvious that you and Itachi like each other and for some reason you guys are fighting so you're using me to make him jealous and he's using that girl who had parents that didn't like her much." Kiba said frankly.

Sakura was speechless.

"Me and some friends planned to ditch this thing early and go play some football outside in the parking lot. I never really liked these events anyways. You can come if you want to! I won't hold it against you." [britney reference! XD]

Sakura formed an X with her hands, "Nope I'm good! You can go. Thanks for helping me out even after you found out." Sakura said gratefully.

"No prob. We're friends right?" Kiba said with a thumbs up and a NUMBA 1 grin before running off to join the other guys.

Sakura, realizing her situation, went into hiding amongst the crowds, stalking Itachi from the shadows.

_"I can't let him see me by myself he won't let me live it down!"_ Sakura thought to herself as she mingled among the crowd.

Itachi looked at his watch as Britanaynay leaned against him. He felt awkward with her and she smelt like his mom, which was just odd.

_"10:30. Just one and a half more hours to go and you're mine woman!" _Itachi thought to himself with an evil and playful smirk as he scanned the crowds for a pink-haired girl. He frowned when he couldn't find her.

"Hey I'm gonna go now-"

"GO WHERE!" Britanaynay looked at him with huge eyes while she grabbed his two arms tightly.

"To get punch ch-chill!" Itachi said, freaked out by the crazed woman and pried himself out of her grip to quickly run to the heaven that was punch. He breathed a sigh of relief at the table and fixed his clothes.

He decided to go outside for a bit and get some air, then attack Sakura as soon as the clock struck 12. He sipped his punch and chuckled from all the evil things he planned to do to her that she would no longer be able to escape from.

He heard sounds and saw a bunch of guys playing football in the parking lot a few blocks down from the school. On squinting he saw someone that looked like Kiba, but he wasn't sure, and was too lazy to walk all the way over there to clarify if Sakura got ditched or not.

He watched them playing around and laughed when they failed epically but after awhile what he saw became a bit above the K+ rating of this story and so he walked around to the other exit of the party where he could no longer see the horse play that was going on.

Time went by slowly and it was finally 11:30. Sakura couldn't find Itachi anywhere and so she decided to stop craning her neck looking for him and hiding behind people sitting on chairs and go outside.

Unfortunately for her, the exit she chose was the one Itachi was standing in front of. As she opened the door it bumped against him and he turned around to see his prey walking right into his trap.

"Sorry!" she said and quickly started closing the door but he caught it, swung it open, dragged her outside, and slammed it shut in one smooth motion. He then pressed her against the door, holding either of her hands with his own against the door.

"I'm not letting you go this time." He said deviously.

Sakura shut her eyes, "I still have half an hour!" she said desperately.

Itachi smirked, "That's fine. We can just stay like this for half an hour." he whispered as he leaned in closer like he was going to kiss her. Sakura swallowed hard. Her lips were quivering again as the feeling from two days ago returned.

Itachi smirked again before leaning off and sitting on the steps that led down to the everlasting pathway. He patted the steps as a queue for Sakura to sit beside him.

Sakura cautiously walked to the steps and sat far from Itachi. There was an awkward silence, then Sakura flinched as the Uchiha stretched for her but she was too far and he gave up and decided to lie on the floor instead.

**[BACK INSIDE]**

Karin had managed to drag Sasuke onto the dance floor while Ino was side tracked with lack of food issues and she had to take responsibility as student council president.

Her dancing was more like random posing while she batted her eyes at Sasuke with pink cheeks. The Uchiha was quite frankly, disgusted with her and wanted her to disappear when his prayers were answers.

Just as Karin was getting closer to Sasuke, one of the set of entrance doors were kicked open [not the itasaku side the kiba side] and a boy stood with a bouquet of flowers in a light blue tuxedo.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY WOMAN UCHIHA!" was the loud shout made by said person. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the boy standing in the middle of the entrance with the street lights enveloping him in orange.

He sprinted into the room, pushing people past to get to the couple on the dance floor. When he reached he pushed Sasuke aside and knelt down in front of Karin holding the bouquet of flowers.

"Suigetsu!" Karin gasped. His appearance had stunned her.

Sasuke, although his prayers had been answered and Karin had been taken away, resulted in him ending up in an awkward situation. Suigetsu's push was so hard that Sasuke fell to the side. And what was to the side? Why, Naruto and Hinata of course. And Sasuke unfortunately fell on Naruto and the two ended up meeting a lot closer than they planned.

"OMG SASUKE-KUN'S GAY!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" all the girls screamed out and began sobbing into their partner's chests.

Sasuke quickly parted from the orange wonder who was speechless. Sasuke spat and rubbed his mouth, his face showing he was absolutely horrified at what just happened. He looked at Naruto, than got up, spat again, and stormed out of the building.

Everyone watched this scene but for some reason, Karin was frozen. She couldn't take her eyes off of Suigetsu. And so she didn't see anything that happened to Sasuke.

"What are you doing here...!" Karin asked, breathless.

"I've come to ask you, if you'll have this dance with me." Suigetsu said dramatically, as he stood up and handed her the bouquet.

She took it absentmindedly, not leaving his eyes once. He smiled at her, taking her stillness as complete surrender. He took one of the roses out of the bouquet and put it in his mouth, raising his eyebrows at her twice.

She rested one arm around his neck and tossed the bouquet back with the other, still not leaving his gaze. He took her other hand in his and the two began to waltz across the dance floor with such grace. The dj found a classical track and started playing it. Everyone else joined in.

Karin was under a trance. Suigetsu had gelled his hair back and actually looked close to Hidan's cousin more than Kisame's now. He also looked very charming in his tux and she just couldn't take her eyes off of him.

**[MEANWHILE]**

"So what happened to you date? You just ditched her?" Sakura said after a few moments of silence passed between her and the boy on the ground beside her.

"Yeah pretty much. But she's probably making out with some random guy inside. After all, she is a slut." Itachi replied nonchalantly.

"Hey that's not nice."

"But it's true. You can just tell from the introduction you had."

"...Yeah I guess you're right." Sakura admitted.

Itachi smirked, "What about you?" he asked.

"Oh well. Kiba got sick and had to go early?" Sakura lied.

"Liar."

She sighed, "Okay fine. He found out that I was just using him and blackmailed me into letting him go hang out with his friends and play football."

"Wow really!" Itachi said sitting up quickly and staring at Sakura with an omg-I-can't-believe-that-happened-you-fail-I-so-won face.

Sakura sighed, "Don't rub it in. I can't get over it myself."

"Alright fine I'll drop it for now." Itachi said as he sat back up properly.

After a few seconds Sakura started again, "What I can't get over is the actual reason he ditched me! I mean, to play football? With a bunch of guys? Instead of going to a spring formal with a girl and trying to get lucky? I mean come on! Not even ditching me to go make out with a girl! Or even a guy! No to play football!" Sakura ended, throwing her hands into the air out of disgust.

"Ahh, no he ditched you for a guy..." Itachi trailed off and looked away from her.

"What was that?" Sakura asked, looking at the Uchiha.

He sighed and stood up, "Let me show you something."

She looked at him hesitantly. He sighed again, "I won't rape you yet. You still have five minutes remember?"

Sakura decided to follow him, since she didn't know him to be a liar. She followed him around the building to the other entrance and followed his finger to the parking lot a few blocks down from school.

In said parking lot were boys from her school, and her date Kiba, doing things she never thought could've happened in said parking lot a few blocks down from her school, with boys from her school, and her date Kiba.

She covered her mouth and ran back around to the other entrance/exit. "Sakura wait up!" Itachi called out and ran after her.

He found her looking so depressed on the steps in the same spot she was originally. He sighed and sat beside her.

"Is wasn't me right? It was just him right?" Sakura said and looked at Itachi with big eyes.

"OF COURSE WOMAN WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU. Don't let that get to you! I mean come on, I'M in love you remember? That has to mean you're worth a lot." Itachi said conceitedly, but also with a hint of sincerity.

She stared at him with thank-you-for-being-so-supportive-of-my-pathetic-self eyes and he sighed before pulling her into a side hug, "What am I going to do with you?"

She found herself smiling and closed her eyes. She was about to drift off when Itachi's watch beeped twelve times in a row. She felt him stop moving and kept her eyes shut, hoping the beeping of his watch didn't mean it was twelve o clock, and the time period was over.

"Sakura~" Itachi purred and the girl tensed as she felt an arm slide around her waist slowly, "I've been waiting patiently all this time~" he continued. She sat up and pushed against his chest with her arms in vain.

"Wait a minute-"

"Oh there's no more waiting Sakura. You can't refuse me now I won't take no for an answer." he said with a smirk as he leaned into kiss her. Sakura leaned back in time with him to avoid him but when she found herself on the floor she realized there was no escape.

The Uchiha smirked and ran a hand through her hair as he kissed her forehead. Sakura looked at him with slight fear in her eyes that only seemed to tempt him more.

He chuckled, "Don't look so frightened Sakura. It only makes me wants you more" he said as he kissed her neck and she gasped.

"Don't worry I'll be gentle." he breathed on her neck before he kissed her again. He moved to her lips and the kissing became more passionate, Sakura wrapping her arms around his neck and he, sliding an arm around her waist for support while the other played in her hair. He began to move down to her neck and the skin of her chest that was showing through the V-neck.

She moaned with pleasure as he nipped gently on her skin, and he was about to slide one of her straps off when the exit doors burst open and an extremely frustrated Sasuke emerged, huffing and puffing. The couple broke to look at the distraction in surprise. Sasuke stared down at them, still angry.

He looked at Sakura who suddenly felt embarrassed and tried to cover herself, then turned to Itachi and became even angrier for no apparent reason.

"I want to go home NOW. Take me home." Sasuke commanded.

Itachi was about to tell him off when he looked at Sakura and had thought of an idea. "Yeah let's go." he quickly agreed and got up.

"Wh-what? Itachi just going to leave like that?" Sakura found herself saying in disbelief.

"Yeah but you're definitely coming with me." he said and lifted her bridal style before she could respond.

"Wait what?" Sakura couldn't comprehend what was happening.

As the trio walked to the limo Itachi explained, "Well my house is a lot bigger than yours, and so there are many empty rooms to which I hold the key to, and in which no one has stayed in for years and so we won't be disturbed tonight." he ended with a devilish smirk.

Sakura began to blush madly when everything processed.

"B-b-but what about my mom? She's waiting for me to come home! And it's pretty late! I can't go to a guy's home at this hour!" Sakura babbled.

"Oh don't worry. I'll give her a call in the limo and you can tell her good night. You'll be staying at my house tonight whether you like it or not. Don't worry Sasuke we won't disturb you." Itachi said and smiled at his little brother.

"I don't give a **** what you do I just want to go home!" Sasuke screamed and marched faster to the limo. He entered the front of the limo and sat beside the driver, obviously disgusted at the couple that would also be driving in the same vehicle.

"What's his problem?" Sakura asked, amazed at how he managed to kill the mood so quickly.

"Probably having his period again." Itachi said with a sigh.

"Itachi! How rude!"

"Oh you don't have yours right now do you?"

"Nope. Last week."

"Awesome." Itachi said with a confident face as he entered the limo with Sakura still in arms.

When it finally clicked Sakura could be heard screaming NOOOOOOOOOO! and WAIT LET ME OUT OF HERE! the entire ride to the Uchiha residence.

It was a long night for everybody, but a very memorable one for most.

**TADAA! STORY DONE! FINALLEH XD**

**I hoped you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it XP**

**I look forward to reading your reviews! Tell me what moments you liked the most in this chapter or part 1 or the entire story! I'd love to know. I have exams next week but I just wanted to finish this before them so I could focus. Enjoy your summer when it comes guys! XD**


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